#I tried to post this on other website but it didn’t really gain much audience lol people was just looking and then silently leaving

[somerandomdudelmao]

Let me show you one of my original concepts :>

Because. Why not haha👍

Characters refs Masterpost

Next

[shihalyfie]

Hi :) If it's not too much trouble, could you please share your take on why they'd continue the Adventure brand after tri. was such a flop? (and a tangent: what does "dark history" even mean?). We got Kizuna, the reboot, and a 02 movie. Logically, it doesn't really make sense they'd keep investing in it.

This is a thorny topic, and I'd like to reiterate that although I've ended up making more posts related to this series and the discourse surrounding it recently (probably because it's even more on the mind now that another movie is on the horizon and a lot of people are apprehensive for various reasons), I do not want this blog to be making a brand out of being critical of this series. I’m writing this here and in public because I figured that there is a certain degree I need to clarify what I mean about audience reception/climate and how it might impact current or future works, and I’m admittedly also more than a little upset that I occasionally see Western fanbase criticisms of the series getting dismissed by people claiming that the only people mad about it are dramamongering or ignorant Westerners (which could not be further from the truth). However, this is mainly to address this and to answer your question, and is not intended to try and change anyone's existing opinion or impression of the series as much as it's me trying to explain (from my own personal reading of the situation) what practically went down with critical reception in real life; no more, no less.

The short summary of the matter is:

The series was a moderate financial success (albeit with some caveats; see the long version for details) and definitely outstripped a lot of prior attempts to revive the franchise;

However, the overall Japanese fanbase-side critical backlash from tri. was extremely and viciously negative to the point where even acknowledging the series too much could easily result in controversy;

Kizuna’s production and the PR surrounding it very obviously have this in mind with a lot of apparent “damage control” elements.

The long version is below.

Note that while I try to be diligent about citing my sources so people understand that I’m not just making things up wholesale, I’m deliberately refraining from linking certain things here this time, both because some of the things mentioned have some pretty crude things written there -- it’s not something I feel comfortable directing people to regardless of what language it’s in -- and because I don’t want to recklessly link things on social media and cause anyone to go after or harass the people involved. For the links that have been provided, please still be warned that some of them don’t really link to particularly pleasant things.

I am not writing the following information to suggest that anyone should agree or disagree with the sentiments being described. I know people tend to take "a lot of people like/hate this" as a signal of implication "it is correct to like/hate this" when it's not (and I especially dislike the idea of implying that Japanese fanbase opinions are the only correct ones). There's a reason I focus on "critical reception being this way" (because it influences marketing decisions and future direction) rather than how much this should impact one's personal feelings; this is coming from myself as someone who is shamelessly proud of liking many things that had bad critical reception, were financial failures, or are disliked by many. As I point out near the end, the situation also does seem to be changing for the better in more recent years as well.

Also, to be clear, I'm a single person who's observing everything best I can from my end, I have no affiliations with staff nor do I claim to, and as much as I'm capable of reading Japanese and thus reading a lot of people's impressions, I'm ultimately still another “outsider” looking in. These are my impressions from my observation of fan communal spaces, following artists and reading comments on social media and art posting websites, and results from social media searches. In the end, I know as much as anyone else about what happened, so this is just my two cents based on all of my personal observations.

A fanbase is a fanbase regardless of what part of the world you're from. There are people who love it and are shameless about saying so. There are people who have mixed feelings or at least aren't on extreme ends of the spectrum (as always, the loudest ones are always the most visible, but it's not always easy to claim they're the predominant percentage of the fanbase). That happens everywhere, and I still find that on every end I've seen. However, if I'm talking about my impressions and everything I’ve encountered, I will say that the overall Japanese reaction to tri. comes off as significantly more violently negative on average than the Western one, which is unusual because often it's the other way around. (I personally feel less so because the opinions are that fundamentally different and more so because we're honestly kind of loud and in-your-face people; otherwise, humans are mostly the same everywhere, and more often than not people feel roughly the same about everything if they’re given the same information to work with.)

This is not something I can say lightly, and thus would not say if I didn’t really get this impression, but...we're talking "casually looking up movie reviews for Kizuna have an overwhelming amount of people casually citing any acknowledgment of tri. elements as a negative element", or the fact that even communal wikis for "general" fandoms like Pixiv and Aniwota don't tend to hold back in being vicious about it (as of this writing, Pixiv's wiki refuses to consider it in the same timeline as Adventure, accusing it of being "a series that claims to be a sequel set three years after 02 but is in fact something different"). Again, there are people who openly enjoy it and actively advocate for it (and Pixiv even warns people to not lord over others about it condescendingly because of the fact that such people do exist), and this is also more of a reflection of “the hardcore fanbase on the Internet” and not necessarily the mainstream (after all, there are quite a few other Digimon works where the critical reception varies very heavily between the two). Nevertheless, the take-home is that the reputation is overall negative among the Internet fanbase to the point that this is the kind of sentiment you run into without trying all that hard.

I think, generally speaking, if we're just talking about why a lot of people resent the series, the reasons aren't that different from those on the Western side. However, that issue of "dark history" (黒歴史): there's a certain degree of demand from the more violently negative side of the fanbase that's, in a sense, asking official to treat it as a disgrace and never acknowledge it ever again, hence why Kizuna doing so much as borrowing things from it rather than rejecting it outright is still sometimes treated like it’s committing a sin. So it's somewhat close in spirit to a retcon movement, which is unusual because no other Digimon series gets this (not even 02; that was definitely a thing on the Western end, but while I'm sure there are people who hate it that much on their end too, I've never really seen it gain enough momentum for anyone to take it seriously). If anyone ever tells you that Japanese fanbases are nice to everything, either they don't know Japanese, are being willfully ignorant, or are lying to you, because there is such thing as drama in those areas, and in my experience, I've seen things get really nasty when things are sufficiently pushed over the edge, and if a fanbase wants to have drama, it will have drama. This happens to be one of those times.

(If you think this is extreme, please know that I also think so too, so I hope you really understand that me describing this sentiment does not mean I am personally endorsing it. Also, let me reiterate that the loudest section of the fanbase is not necessarily the predominant one; after all, as someone who’s been watching reactions to 02 over the years, I myself can attest that its hatedom has historically made it sound more despised than it actually is in practice.)

My impression is that the primary core sentiment behind why the series so much as existing and being validated is considered such an offense (rather than, say, just saying "wow, that writing was bad" and moving on) is heavily tied to the release circumstances the series came out in during 2015-2018, and the idea that "this series disrespected Adventure, and also disrespected the fanbase.” (I mean, really, regardless of what part of the world you’re from, sequels and adaptations tend to be held to a higher bar of expectation than standalone works, because they’re expected to do them justice.) A list of complaints I’ve come across a lot while reading through the above:

The Japanese fanbase is pretty good at recordkeeping when it comes to Adventure universe lore, partially because they got a lot of extra materials that weren’t localized, but also partially because adherence to it seems to generally be more Serious Business to them than it is elsewhere. For instance, “according to Adventure episode 45, ‘the one who wishes for stability’ (Homeostasis) only started choosing children in 1995, and therefore there can be no Chosen Children before 1995” is taken with such gravity that this, not anything to do with evolutions or timeline issues, is the main reason Hurricane Touchdown’s canonicity was disputed in that arena (because Wallace implies that he met his partners before 1995). It’s a huge reason the question of Kizuna also potentially not complying to lore came to the forefront, because tri. so flagrantly contradicts it so much that this issue became very high on the evaluation checklist. In practice, Kizuna actually goes against Adventure/02 very little, so the reason tri. in particular comes under fire for this is that it does it so blatantly there were theories as early as Part 1 that this series must take place in a parallel universe or something, and as soon as it became clear it didn’t, the resulting sentiment was “wow, you seriously thought nobody would notice?” (thus “disrespecting the audience”).

A lot of the characterization incongruity is extremely obvious when you’re following only the Japanese version, partially because it didn’t have certain localization-induced characterization changes (you are significantly less likely to notice a disparity with Mimi if you’re working off the American English dub where they actually did make her likely to step on others’ toes and be condescending, whereas in Japanese the disparity is jarring and hard to miss) and partially due to some things lost in translation (Mimi improperly using rough language on elders is much easier to spot as incongruity if you’re familiar with the language). Because it’s so difficult to miss, and honestly feels like a lot of strange writing decisions you’d make only if you really had no concept of what on earth happened in the original series, it only contributes to the idea that they were handling Adventure carelessly and disrespectfully without paying attention to what the series was even about (that, or worse, they didn’t care).

02 is generally well-liked there! It’s controversial no matter where you go, but as I said earlier, there was no way a retcon movement would have ever been taken seriously, and the predominant sentiment is that, even if you’re not a huge fan of it, its place in canon (even the epilogue) should be respected. So not only flagrantly going against 02-introduced lore but also doing that to a certain quartet is seen as malicious, and you don’t have as much of the converse discourse celebrating murdering the 02 quartet (yeah, that’s a thing that happened here) or accusing people with complaints of “just being salty because they like 02″ as nearly as much of a factor; I did see it happen, or at least dismissals akin to “well it’s Adventure targeted anyway,” but they were much less frequent. The issue with the 02 quartet is usually the first major one brought up, and there’s a lot of complaints even among those who don’t care for 02 as much that the way they went about it was inhumane and hypocritical, especially when killing Imperialdramon is fine but killing Meicoomon is a sin. Also, again, “you seriously think nobody will see a problem with how this doesn’t make sense?”

I think even those who are fans of the series generally agree with this, but part of the reason the actual real-life time this series went on is an important factor is that the PR campaign for this series was godawful. Nine months of clicking on an egg on a website pretending like audience participation meant something when in actuality it was blatantly obvious it was just a smokescreen to reveal info whenever they were ready? This resulted in a chain effect where even more innocuous/defensible things were viewed in a suspicious or negative light (for instance, "the scam of selling the fake Kaiser's goggles knowing Ken fans would buy it only to reveal that it's not him anyway"), and a bunch of progressively out-of-touch-with-the-fanbase statements and poor choices led to more sentiment “yeah, you’re just insulting the fanbase at this point,” and a general erosion of trust in official overall.

On top of that, the choice of release format to have it spread out as six movies over three years seems to have exacerbated the backlash to get much worse than it would have been otherwise, especially since one of the major grievances with the series is that how it basically strung people along, building up more and more unanswered questions before it became apparent it was never going to answer them anyway. So when you’re getting that frustrated feeling over three whole years, it feels like three years of prolonged torture, and it becomes much harder to forgive for the fallout than if you’d just marathoned the entire thing at once.

For those who are really into the Digimon (i.e. species) lore and null canon, while I’m not particularly well-versed in that side of the fanbase, it seems tri. fell afoul of them too for having inaccurately portrayed (at one point, mislabeled) special attacks and poorly done battle choreography, along with the treatment of Digimon in general (infantilized Digimon characterization, general lack of Digimon characters in general, very flippant treatment of the Digital World in Parts 3-5). If you say you’re going to “reboot” the Digital World and not address the entire can of worms that comes with basically damaging an entire civilization of Digimon, as you can imagine, a lot of people who actually really care about that are going to be pissed, and the emerging sentiment is “you’re billing this as a Digimon work, but you don’t even care about the monsters that make up this franchise.”

The director does not have a very positive reputation among those who know his work (beyond just Digimon), and in general there was a lot of suspicion around the fact they decided to get a guy whose career has primarily been built on harem and fanservice anime to direct a sequel to a children’s series. Add to that a ton of increasingly unnerving statements about how he intended to make the series “mature” in comparison to its predecessor (basically, an implication that Adventure and 02 were happy happy joy series where nothing bad ever happened) and descriptions of Adventure that implied a very, very poor grasp of anything that happened in it: inaccurate descriptions of their characters, poor awareness of 02′s place in the narrative, outright saying in Febri that he saw the Digimon as like perpetual kindergartners even after evolving, and generally such a flippant attitude that it drove home the idea that the director of an Adventure sequel had no respect for Adventure, made this series just to maliciously dunk on it for supposedly being immature, and has such a poor grasp of what it even was that it’s possible he may not have seen it in the first place (or if he did, clearly skimmed it to the extent he understood it poorly to pretty disturbing levels). As of this writing, Aniwota Wiki directly cites him as a major reason for the backlash.

In general, consensus seems to be that the most positively received aspect of the series (story-wise) was Part 3 (mostly its ending, but some are more amenable to the Takeru and Patamon drama), and the worst vitriol goes towards Parts 2 (for the blatantly contradictory portrayal of Mimi and Jou and the hypocritical killing of Imperialdramon) and 4 (basically the “point of no return” where even more optimistic people started getting really turned off). This is also what I suspect is behind the numbers on the infamous DigiPoll (although the percentage difference is admittedly low enough to fall within margin of error). However, there was suspicion about the series even from Part 1, with one prominent fanartist openly stating that it felt more like meeting a ton of new people than it did reuniting with anyone they knew.

So with all of that on the table: how did this affect official? The thing is that when I say “violently negative”, I mean that also entailed spamming official with said violently negative social media comments. While this is speculation, I am fairly certain that official must have realized how bad this was getting as early as between Parts 4 and 5, because that’s where a lot of really suspicious things started happening behind the scenes; while I imagine the anime series itself was now too far in to really do anything about it, one of the most visible producers suddenly vanished from the producer lineup and was replaced by Kinoshita Yousuke, who ended up being the only member of tri. staff shared with Kizuna (and, in general, the fact that not a single member of staff otherwise was retained kind of says a lot). Once the series ended in 2018 and the franchise slowly moved into Kizuna-related things, you might notice that tri.-branded merch production almost entirely screeched to a halt and official has been very touchy about acknowledging it too deeply; it’s not that they don’t, but it’s kind of an awfully low amount for what you’d think would be warranted for a series that’s supposed to be a full entry in the big-name Adventure brand.

The reason is, simply, that if they do acknowledge it too much, people will get pissed at them. That’s presumably why the tri. stage play (made during that interim period between Parts 4 and 5 and even branded with the title itself) and Kizuna are really hesitant to be too aggressive about tri. references; it’s not necessarily that official wants to blot it out of history like the most extreme opinions would like them to, but even being too enthusiastic about affirming it will also get them backlash, especially if the things they affirm are contradictory to Adventure or 02. And considering even the small references they did put in still got them criticism for “affirming” tri. too much, you can easily see that the backlash would have been much harder if they’d attempted more than that; staying as close as possible to Adventure and 02 and trying to deal with tri. elements only when they’re comparatively inoffensive was pretty much the “safe” thing to do in this scenario (especially since fully denying tri. would most certainly upset the people who did like the series, and if you have to ask me, I personally think this would have been a pretty crude thing to have done right after the series had just finished). Even interviews taken after the fact often involve quickly disclaiming involvement with the series, or, if they have to bring up something about it, discussing the less controversial aspects like the art (while the character designs were still controversial, it’s at least at the point where some fanartists will still be willing to make use of them even if they dislike the series, albeit often with prominent disclaimers) or the more well-received parts of Part 3; Kizuna was very conspicuously marketed as a standalone movie, even if it shared the point of “the Adventure kids, but older” that tri. had.

(Incidentally, the tri. stage play has generally been met with a good reputation and was received well even among people who were upset with the anime, so it was well-understood that they had no relation. In fact, said stage play is probably even better received than Kizuna, although that’s not too surprising given the controversial territory Kizuna goes into, making the stage play feel very play-it-safe in comparison.)

So, if we’re going to talk about Kizuna in particular: tri. was, to some degree, a moderate financial success, in the sense that it made quite a bit of money and did a lot to raise awareness of the Digimon brand still continuing...however, if you actually look at the sales figures for tri., they go down every movie; part of it was probably because of the progressively higher “hurdle” to get into a series midway, but consider that Gundam Unicorn (a movie series which tri.’s format was often compared to) had its sales go up per movie thanks to word of mouth and hype. So while tri. does seem to have gotten enough money to help sustain the franchise at first, the trade-off was an extremely livid fanbase that had shattered faith in the brand and in official, and so while continuing the Adventure brand might still be profitable, there was no way they were going to get away with continuing to do this lest everything eventually crash and burn.

Hence, if you look at the way Kizuna was produced and advertised, you can see a lot of it is blatantly geared at addressing a lot of the woes aimed at tri.: instead of the staff that had virtually no affiliation with Toei, the main members of staff announced were either from the original series (Seki and Yamatoya) or openly childhood fans, the 02 quartet was made into a huge advertising point as a dramatic DigiFes reveal (and character profies that tie into the 02 epilogue careers prominently part of the advertising from day one), and they even seemed to acknowledge the burnout on the original Adventure group by advertising it so heavily as “the last adventure of Taichi and his friends”, so you can see that there’s a huge sentiment of “damage control” with it. How successful that was...is debatable, since opinions have been all over the board; quite a few people were naturally so livid at what happened with tri. that Kizuna was just opening more of the wound, but there were also people who liked it much better and were willing to acknowledge it (with varying levels of enthusiasm, some simply saying “it was thankfully okay,” and some outright loving it), and there was a general sentiment even among those who disliked both that they at least understood what Kizuna was going for and that it didn’t feel as inherently disrespectful. (Of course, there are people who loved tri. and hated Kizuna, and there are people who loved both, too.)

Moreover, Kizuna actually has a slightly different target audience from tri.; there’s a pretty big difference between an OVA and a theatrical movie, and, quite simply, Kizuna was made under the assumption that a lot of people watching it may not have even seen tri. in the first place. An average of 11% of the country watched Adventure and 02, but the number of people who watched tri. is much smaller, in part due to the fact that its “theater” screenings were only very limited screenings compared to Kizuna being shown in theaters in Japan and worldwide, and in part due to the fact that watching six parts over three years is a pretty huge commitment for someone who may barely remember Digimon as anything beyond a show they watched as a kid, and may be liable to just fall off partway through because they simply just forgot. (Which also probably wasn’t helped by the infamously negative reputation, something that definitely wouldn’t encourage someone already on the fence.) And that’s yet another reason Kizuna couldn’t make too many concrete tri. references; being a theatrical movie, it needs to have as wide appeal as possible, and couldn’t risk locking out an audience that had a very high likelihood of not having seen it, much less to the end -- it may have somewhat been informed by tri.’s moderate financial success and precedent, but it ultimately was made for the original Adventure and 02 audience more than anything else.

I would say that, generally, while Kizuna is “controversial” for sure, reception towards the movie seems to be more positive than negative, it won over a large chunk of people who were burned out by tri., and it clearly seems to have been received well enough that it’s still being cashed in on a year after its release. The sheer existence of the upcoming 02-based movie is also probably a sign of Kizuna’s financial and critical success; Kinoshita confirmed at DigiFes 2020 that nothing was in production at the time, and stated shortly after the movie’s announcement that work on it had just started. So the decision to make it seems to have been made after eyeing Kizuna’s reception, and, moreover, the movie was initially advertised from the get-go with Kizuna’s director and writer (Taguchi and Yamatoya), meaning those two have curried enough goodwill from the fanbase that this can be used to promote the movie. (If not, you would think that having and advertising Seki would be the bigger priority.) While this is my own sentiment, I am personally doubtful official would have even considered 02 something remotely profitable enough on its own to cash in on if it weren’t for this entire sequence of events of 02′s snubbing in tri. revealing how much of a fanbase it had (especially with the sheer degree of “suspicious overcompensation” Kizuna had with its copious use of the 02 quartet and it tagging a remix of the first 02 ED on the Hanareteitemo single, followed by the drama CD and character songs), followed by Kizuna having success in advertising with them so heavily. Given all of the events between 2015 and now, it’s a bit ironic to see that 02 has now become basically the last resort to be able to continue anything in the original Adventure universe without getting too many people upset at them about it.

The bright side coming out of all of this is that, while it’s still a bit early to tell, now that we’re three years out from tri. finishing up and with Kizuna in the game, it seems there’s a possibility for things improving around tri.’s reception as well. Since a lot of the worst heated points of backlash against it have a very “you had to have been there” element (related to the PR, release schedule, and staff comments), those coming in “late” don’t have as much reason to be as pissed at it; I’ve seen at least one case of a fanartist getting back into the franchise because of Kizuna hype, watching tri. to catch up, casually criticizing it on Twitter, and moving on with their life, presumably because marathoning the whole thing being generally aware of what’ll happen in it and knowing Kizuna is coming after anyway gives you a lot less reason to be angry to the point of holding an outright grudge. Basically, even if you don’t like it, it’s much easier to actually go “yeah, didn’t like that,” not worry too much about it, and move on. Likewise, I personally get the impression that official has been starting to get a little more confident about digging up elements related to it. Unfortunately, a fairly recent tweet promoting the series getting put on streaming services still got quite a few angry comments implying that they should be deleting the scourge from the Internet instead, so there’s still a long way to go, but hopefully the following years will see things improve further...

In regards to the reboot, I -- and I think a lot of people will agree with me -- have a bit of a hard time reading what exact audience it’s trying to appeal to; we have a few hints from official that they want parents to watch it with their children, and that it may have been a necessary ploy in order to secure their original timeslot. So basically, the Adventure branding gets parents who grew up with the original series to be interested in it and to show it to their kids, and convinces Fuji TV that it might be profitable. But as most people have figured by now, the series has a completely different philosophy and writing style -- I mean, the interview itself functionally admits it’s here to be more action-oriented and to have its own identity -- and the target audience is more the kids than anything else. As for the Internet fanbase of veterans, most people have been critical of its character writing and pacing, but other than a few stragglers who are still really pissed, it hasn’t attracted all that much vitriol, probably because in the end it’s an alternate universe, it doesn’t have any obligation to adhere to anything from the original even if it uses the branding, and it’s clearly still doing its job of being a kids’ show for kids who never saw the original series nor 02, so an attempt to call it “disrespectful” to the original doesn’t have much to stand on. A good number of people who are bored of it decided it wasn’t interesting to them and dropped it without incident, while other people are generally just enjoying it for being fun, and the huge amount of Digimon franchise fanservice with underrepresented Digimon and high fidelity to null canon lore is really pleasing the side of the fanbase that’s into that (I mean, Digimon World Golemon is really deep in), so at the very least, there’s not a lot to be super-upset about.

[charmedseoull]

Interview with sugamins about her work House of Cards (Ao3′s second most hit English work and most hit BTS work)

Before You Read the Interview

Archive of Our Own Transcript

Reddit Transcript Part 1 / Part 2

House of Cards is documented within the Top 50 Most Hit BTS Works on Archive of Our Own Project, otherwise known as T50BTS, by Charmedseoul. It is the second most hit English work on the Archive of Our Own platform, most hit BTS work, and 16th most hit work overall. It centers around the internationally popular K-Pop idol group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) with the main characters being Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, and Jeon Jungkook. This work is being documented for historical purposes for the Fanlore website with its own page. Charmedseoul is a BTS-focused anonymous historian who plans to eventually document each of the top 50 most hit BTS work on Ao3 as in depth as this one. If you are in contact with any of the authors of these works, please contact her on Twitter @charmedseoul or on Tumblr @charmedseoull.

Parts of this interview have been edited with links to Fanlore and Wikipedia pages for understanding. Any information in [brackets] serves for further clarity for readers and elaboration of information.

Disclaimers: This interview contains spoilers for the BTS Archive of Our Own work House of Cards. The story’s Archive of Our Own tags contain violence and gangster activity, along with discussion of prostitution and drug use. The full tag list is:

Alternate Universe - Gangsters

Gang Violence

Violence

Drugs

Drug Use

Explicit Sexual Content

Explicit Language

Blood and Gore

Blood and Torture

Gambling

Gunplay

Undercover

Disturbing Themes

Homophobic Language

Attempted Rape/Non-Con

Xenophobia

Dom/sub

Threesome - M/M/M

Drug Addiction

Dubious Consent

This interview discusses an 18+ mature work and Not Safe for Work topics. Please read this interview at your own discretion. You are responsible for the content you consume.

House of Cards by sugamins is a multi-chapter Archive of Our Own fanfiction that follows police officer Kim Taehyung’s undercover operation into the gangster world of Haedogje Pa. Jeon Jungkook, shrouded in an air of mystery and dubbed “The Boy,” is the heir to this crime empire. Park Jimin lives with him, acting as a lover of sorts in a high, pristine penthouse apartment. The story follows the three and their complicated relationship where sex, violence, and drugs surround them. Kim Taehyung tries to take down the empire as his moral lines of black and white begin blurring into gray. In this crime-ridden alternate reality to Seoul, everything from the structure of the gangster world to the trust between three lovers is as fragile as a house of cards.

Now presenting the interview with sugamins, author of Archive of Our Own’s second most hit English work and most hit BTS work, House of Cards:

How did you start writing?

How did you get into fanfiction?

How much writing experience did you have prior to House of Cards?

Do you have any literary or artistic inspirations? Any other authors or works that have inspired you to create anytime before or after House of Cards?

How did you become an ARMY [ARMY stands for Adorable Representative MC for the Youth. It is the fandom name for fans of BTS, otherwise known as Bangtan Sonyeondan]?

I started writing fanfiction in 2012. But before then, I used to enjoy writing stories as a child and young teenager. I used to write and illustrate my own stories. I even had a sketchbook filled with my own comic book, which was terrible! But I've always been creative. It started with art and then I moved onto writing when I discovered I was able to be much more creative with my words rather than my pencil.

I first got into fanfiction through my years spent on Tumblr. I had always known that it had existed, but I had never really gone looking for it because I hadn't belonged to a fandom at that point in my life. It was back in 2012 when I stumbled upon an EXO fanfic that a lot of people were talking about (Arbitrage, you can find it on Livejournal.) I read it and then thought...wow, so this is fanfiction! From that point, I started reading more and more, mostly Infinite fanfiction. And then I decided to start writing with the encouragement of an old online friend, and here I am!

In terms of writing experience, I have never formally received education. I stopped studying English Language and Literature when I was 16, instead focusing on Art, History, and Religious Education (purely because I wanted to learn about philosophy and quantum mechanics) for my final two years at high-school. The only experience I have is through writing fanfiction. I started back in 2012, and I've developed a lot since then. I started off small, writing horror short stories and little collections. Brotherhood was the first 'long fic' I created. I was shocked that it managed to get so big because I had never created a story of that size before. Writing helped me gain experience and figure out what worked and what didn't work, what I was good at writing, and where I was lacking and needed to learn. I don't think you can really experience an art form until you start doing it. You can learn all about the techniques and the conventions, but until you pick up a pen and start writing or drawing, you won't ever know what it means to create.

My literary inspiration has always been Stephen King. Which is funny, as he has described himself as 'having diarrhea of the typewriter.' I think that applies to me sometimes. I am a bit of a wordy writer, though I've started honing it down for certain stories. Sometimes, a story needs to be floral and descriptive, sometimes, it needs to be punchy and direct. So, King was my major inspiration, especially with horror. I also enjoy the works of Poe and Lovecraft (I acknowledge the problematic themes in the work of Lovercraft and seek not to praise him as a person. He was a terrible person for sure, but sadly, he had a way with cosmic horror that is hard to find.) I also enjoy Chuck Palahniuk and the dark, seedy and overall zany stories that he has created. I like his style a lot!

In terms of inspirations for House of Cards, I was obviously inspired by the films Infernal Affairs/The Departed. American Gangster and Training Day were also major inspirations (and also because I love Denzel Washington's performances in both films. I mean, who doesn't love him?) But I also drew inspiration from other sources that were less focused on gangs, more focused on the dark, nihilistic state of the world around us. I couldn't recommend the TV series True Detective hard enough. It is one of the best series I have ever watched. It handles dark and disturbing content so well, and its fractured, unreliable story-telling and philosophical musing is some of the best I've ever seen on screen. I highly recommend checking it out, but be sure to check the content warning and triggers because it certainly isn't suitable for younger audiences and those with triggers. In terms of real-life content, I think Ross Kemps' docu-series are very good. Particularly Extreme World and On Gangs. His docu-series show the dark and disturbing side of criminal activity, the drug trade and more. 

I became a fan of BTS [Bangtan Sonyeondan] back in 2013. I had already been a fan of K-Pop for some time by then, as I had started listening to various K-Pop and K-Rock artists back in 2009. I knew of their debut, but I had seen hundreds of new acts debut by the time that they broke into the scene, and so I didn't pay much heed. Someone I followed on Tumblr at the time kept posting about how much she loved them, especially Taehyung [BTS V/Kim Taehyung]. One day, I stumbled upon a gifset of Yoongi [BTS Suga/Min Yoongi] being sarcastic in one of their first interviews. I thought he was funny, so I decided to check them out. At the time, they had recently released We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2 [BTS’s second music video release with their debut album 2 Kool 4 Skool]. I followed them from that point, and their first comeback [A “comeback” refers to when a K-Pop idol group releases new music, usually done twice a year.] was also my first comeback. I liked their music [BTS released Boy In Luv and Just One Day in 2014, both music videos of songs from their Skool Luv Affair EP.], but I liked them even more as individuals. I loved watching their shows [Here is a link to BTS’s schedule during 2014 when they had their first comeback. You can find the shows and interviews they were on there.], even though they are incredibly embarrassing to look back on now. They just had so much energy and looked to be having so much fun that I was having fun just watching them. I was a fan, I liked a lot of their songs and followed their activities. But it wasn't until they released HYYH Part One [Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa Part 1 (Korean) = The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1 (This is the title in English), released with the I Need U and Dope music videos.] that I really became a fan of their music. I had already created a couple of small horror stories for the fandom at that point. HYYH Part One [The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1] inspired me so much that I created Brotherhood, my first 'long fic.' I joined AO3 [Archive of Our Own] and started posting there. I received so much support from fellow fans that I carried on writing, and the rest is history!

How has your experience being an ARMY [Adorable Representative MCs of the Youth, BTS’s global fan base name.] been? Did you ever leave the fandom then come back? How did you interact with others when you first got into the fandom and as you grew up?

How have you been since you wrote House of Cards? What have you been working on? 

Are you okay with talking about how old you are now and how old you were when you wrote House of Cards?

Before you even wrote House of Cards, what inspired it? Any TV shows? Music? Movies? Books? Ideas? It could be anything.

How did you start writing House of Cards? Did you finish the entire story then publish it or did you write it as you went? What was the writing process like?

Did you have any beta readers or editors? If you did, are you still in contact with them now? How did they feel about your work?

My experience being a fan has mostly been positive over the years. In the earlier days, back around when I first started writing for the fandom, it was certainly much more positive. I've received so much support over the years, not only in my writing but in my personal life from readers and fellow fans that being a fan of the boys [The members of BTS] really has changed my life. That's not an exaggeration. I doubt I would even be here now without those years having such a positive effect on my mental health. I've never really been the kind to interact with others and form cliques within the fandom, I just like being in my own space and interacting with everyone that comes my way, I guess?

These days, I'm not as active as a writer or in fandom spaces however. I feel like my time in the fandom has started to come up and I don't know how I feel about it just yet. I feel nostalgic for the time when I was first starting out in the fandom and I didn't really know much, but everything was fun. It doesn't feel so fun now, but I mostly contribute that to the effect that Twitter has had on shaping the fandom's growth. Twitter has never been a good place for creatives within fandoms because of issues with algorithms and such. Tumblr was always the better website for hosting artistic content for a variety of reasons. So, I think the fact that everything is on Twitter now has been partly responsible for my decline in engagement and overall enjoyment. I'm currently taking a break from Twitter. The next couple of months will be what makes me either stay or leave the fandom.

Since writing House of Cards, I've been an active writer in the fandom. Over the years, I've added quite a lot of stories to my AO3 accounts and various pseuds. My largest ongoing story is another gang story, set in the 1980s, called Valentino Summers. I actually started writing and publishing it on Ao3 just four or so months after I finished House of Cards—which is wild to think about. Finally finishing House of Cards seems like such a long time ago in my mind, and yet I'm still working on a story I created that same year! I like contributing horror stories to the fandom, especially in the Halloween period. I like publishing series in the month/upcoming weeks before Halloween—though I won't be doing so this year [2020].

When I started writing House of Cards, I would have just turned 22. It was inspired by the song 'Wires' by The Neighbourhood. I might be mistaken, but I believe that Jungkook [BTS Jungkook/Jeon Jungkook] posted a tweet with the song in it. [Jungkook did tweet about this song. Here is the English translation.] I had never heard of the band before, but my partner was a fan of their music. She sent the song to me and I was very interested in the lyrics, so I started discussing them with her. One thing led to the next, and then we had basically come up with the entire plot of the story. We just needed to create the characters. We spent a little while doing so, and then I started doing some research and started writing the story. There really isn't a grand backstory to House of Cards, it just happened so fast. We often come up with story ideas like that, and my partner is responsible for a huge amount of my stories. She has the creative visions, which I then turn into words. We make quite the team, haha~ The inspirations, I mentioned those in my previous answer regarding films and TV shows.

I published the story as I went, though I staggered the updates because I didn't want to post too frequently. I had the entire story planned out from the start——I didn't change a single aspect of the story no matter what I received in terms of feedback. I think a lot of readers assume that writers might tweak things if they sense the audience wants something to happen in terms of plot or relationships. Personally, I don't like doing that. I like sticking to my plans even if I know my vision might not be what the readers want. I think it's important for the story to be created the way I see it because my vision is what made me create it, if that makes sense.

The writing process was surprisingly smooth! You might not think it because the story is big and there are a lot of characters and plot threads to keep on top of, but it went smoothly for me. It flowed just as smoothly from start to finish as Brotherhood did. I never struggled once with writing the chapters, nor did I ever get stuck and wonder if I should change the content in order to make it easier to write. I'm surprised that I managed to complete it so easily because that's not the case with writing now! I tend to be a lot slower now, more deliberate and more open to changes in order to ease the process and the overall flow of the story. In a way, this change has been for the best. I do wonder what House of Cards would be like if I were to write it now, with my different approach to planning and writing. It would probably have a quicker flow, and the word count would either go down as a result of cuts, or go up because of additional scenes I would have likely included.

I didn't have any betas, which you can probably tell from the work. My stories are so big that I never wanted to put the burden of fixing them onto someone else. I know they are imperfect, oftentimes bloated things, but that's just what they are. I did try creating a story with another writer in the past, but it didn't go very well. She would often have conflicting opinions on things and would not have any leeway for anything I suggested, whereas I always had leeway to allow her to change things. Even to the point of completely changing the plot of the story that I had already started writing, and then allowing her to add graphic sexual content she didn't even want to be in the story. She actually stopped writing fanfiction randomly in the middle of us creating the story! She made a post about it being disgusting and nasty and then bowed out. I have no clue if she ever came back! So, my negative experience with attempting to work with someone else when creating a story kind of made me not want to have a beta. It's a wild story, I know!

House of Cards is praised for its realism and accuracy with weaponry, torture, sex, and violence. How did you research these things?

How did you come up with the gangster universe in House of Cards? How did you develop Haedogje Pa?

How did you name the original characters in House of Cards? Did any characters in particular take inspiration from existing characters in TV shows, anime, books, any type of media?

How did you decide on Vminkook as your main characters for the story? What do you see in their dynamic and them as characters?

Jimin is claimed to be one of the best written characters in the entire story. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

Taehyung is an especially dynamic character whose morals get tested time and time again in House of Cards. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

Jungkook is one of the characters that the readers spend the least amount of time getting a perspective from, but is incredibly well written in his character progression. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

When it came to various aspects in the story, I did do research. Most of it never really had an impact on the story itself. For example, I would be looking up gun models that are used by law enforcement agencies around the world and trying to find specs of them so I could learn how many bullets each gun held, or how much a magazine could hold. In action scenes, I didn't want my characters firing off 20+ bullets for a gun that—in reality—holds far less. That's a fact that doesn't really mean much to the average reader, but it meant something to me! I've always hated how many bullets fly through the air in action scenes in films and TV shows because I'm always wondering if it's possible with the firearms featured in the scene haha~ In terms of torture, I've come across the subject through various documentaries and TV shows about gangs, crime and serial killers. I didn't really do much additional research into the topic, beyond reading up on what I had come across to make sure it wasn't fictionalised for drama purposes. Obviously, there will be some lack of realism in my story because I couldn't possibly write a realistic portrayal of gang violence and torture when I have zero personal experience with it. My aim wasn't to give the story 'full' realism (I'll explain more about that in the next question) but to simply create a world that felt real, even if there were little aspects that had to be exaggerated for the sake of the story. Taehyung's behaviour when undercover certainly broke many procedures. The only thing working in his favour that allowed him to get away with it is that the crimes he committed couldn't be directly traced to him. But a real undercover agent would never do the things that he did on behalf of the gang. Basically, this means that the entire story is unrealistic! But of course, it wouldn't be very entertaining if Taehyung simply observed from the background and didn't dirty his hands. So, I had to bend and break the rules a little!

For the universe, I knew that I couldn't base it too much in reality. Because of basic Korean law, it would have been impossible for me to write the gang operating in the way they did in the story—especially with guns. Most Korean gangs tend to use other forms of violence and weapons in order to control their respective areas, rather than guns. My other story, Taste of Ink, has what I would consider a more realistic approach to gang activity—with the main weapons being knives, baseball bats, etc. and the main forms of violence being assault instead of flat-out murder. So, for the sake of allowing guns to appear in the story, I had to create a Neo-Seoul, so to speak. I took inspiration from Korean gangs, and mixed it with influences from other gang cultures in order to create 'Haedogje Pa.'

When it comes to naming original characters, I honestly don't put much thought into it. I like to use real names for inspiration. I often Google various Korean films I've watched and read the cast list in order to find interesting character and actor names. This is because I have a habit of reusing names sometimes. For example, readers of my stories might have come across a couple of Daesu and Goohee characters. Do you know where I got these names from? I picked Daesu from Oh Daesu - Choi Minsik's character in Oldboy. Goohee comes from the manhwa 'Let Dai' - he is the stubborn gang leader that actually has a good heart beneath his rough exterior. I ended up liking him the most by the end of the story, so his name is one that often comes to mind when I need to pick an original character name.

I never really consider real life dynamics when I'm writing because my stories are so detached from reality that it seems pointless including any inspiration from reality. I chose the three main characters simply because, at the time, they seemed to fit the character moulds the best. The other characters fit their respective characters so well (especially Namjoon [BTS RM/Kim Namjoon] and Yoongi) that I simply thought it was best to have Taehyung, Jimin [BTS Jimin/Park Jimin] and Jungkook as the three lead roles. I chose them more based on how I thought they could personally fit the characters, rather than focus on the dynamic. To use Taehyung as an example, I thought that he would fit the character of the informant in my story because in reality, he is intelligent and seemed like he would suit the role. For Jimin, I thought he would be a good choice for a character that some might think is vulnerable or even weak. He is actually very strong and the most important character for the plot progression. For Jungkook, I liked the thought of someone with such an innocent outer appearance hiding a dark secret.

I'm so glad that readers took to Jimin so positively on a whole. I know there are some that hated him, or that hated the fact I chose him for such a role (a 'negative' sex worker role). But Jimin is the most important character for the plot progression. It is through him that the entire plan finally culminates in the explosive finish. I wanted to treat him with care because I understood that his character could go very wrong if not handled correctly. It would have been easy for him to simply become nothing more than a sexual prop, should the story have focused too much on Taehyung and Jungkook as the key players. So, I decided to subvert it by giving Jimin the ultimate hand in the story and allowing him to have more control than Jungkook in the end. If Jimin had not decided to follow through with the plan, if he had decided to snitch or had simply refused to do his part in exposing the gang, the story would've ended drastically differently. But I also didn't want to write Jimin taking control of the entire situation at the end because it would've felt ingenuine. He is a character that has been deeply affected by a lifetime of trauma. I was worried that some might take my portrayal of his trauma the wrong way, and see him not as a character that has suffered immense mental damage but rather as an annoying, weak character that gets in the way of more 'interesting' dynamics. I'm sure there will be readers that think that. Mentally traumatized individuals are often seen in such negative light, be they fictional characters or real people. When writing his character, especially in the later scenes, I wanted to make sure the trauma he experienced would shape his behaviour. Writing the scene of him getting ready to leave, when he is taking his pills and he doesn't think he can do it, it was hard. It was hard getting into that headspace of feeling so powerless in the moment and knowing that freedom is in reach, but not knowing how to achieve it. He was a difficult character to write, but I think he turned out just right in the end.

Taehyung was probably the best character to write. I love characters that start off so morally upright and pristine, and by the end of the story, their backs are bending and close to breaking from the weight of their conscience and misdeeds. His character has many facets to him that made his perspectives so interesting to tackle. From his green days in the gang, where he is horrified by the violence he sees, to the changes in his psyche as he starts to become desensitized to it all. Fundamentally, Taehyung begins the story as a good man, a hero, but by the end, there is no black and white thinking. He has become grey, muddied from his time spent in the gang. Is he a hero for bringing them down? Would a hero do the things that he did in order to bring down the gang? He killed people. He tortured people. He threatened a man with a gun, a man he knew had a deepset fear of guns that would severely trigger him. I think it all depends on how the reader sees it. The hardest thing to write for his character was his troubled descent into the relationship between him, Jungkook and Jimin, and how it affects his thought processes and emotions. I didn't want House of Cards to be seen as a romantic story when I created it. If readers see it that way, they are more than entitled to their own interpretations. I cannot tell them how they can interpret my art, that is not my role as the creator. I don't know if I effectively portrayed the co-dependency between the three main characters as well as I would've liked. But I had never tackled such a story and themes before, and so it was all new to me.

I didn't know that Jungkook had the least perspective from the three main characters. Similarly, I never really put that much effort into creating and developing his character! Jungkook simply 'happened' in the moment. He would appear in the chapter, and then his character would basically take control of the scene. I never really knew what he was going to say or do beyond my rough plans for each scene. I just waited until he appeared and let the creative spirit flow through me. That's how he came to be! I've had that happen many times in the past with characters—they have a life of their own and I've no control over them. In my story, Brotherhood, Taehyung happened the same way. It was impossible to write his character in that story because he was so wild and free-spirited that it didn't feel right unless his behaviour was a total spur-of-the-moment reaction to the other characters and new plot points. But with Jungkook in House of Cards, I don't know why I didn't have him planned out like the others. It's interesting to think that he might've had a good progression when I never planned any of it in detail!

Were there any original characters you particularly liked writing or enjoyed?

When you wrote for the BTS hyung line, how did you determine their roles in the story and characterize each of them?

Is there a reason behind Namjoon saying “brother” or was it a consciously written character quirk?

When you handled more serious subject matter in House of Cards, how did you feel when writing it? Were you ever startled by your own work?

Was there any type of purposeful titling for the fanfiction chapters?

What was your reason for House of Cards’ open ending?

I liked writing Lim, the original informant that helped Taehyung join the gang. I like writing characters that come across as sleazy. In his case, the sleaze was all an act and wasn't true to his character; he was affecting it for the sake of creating a persona. But I enjoy writing absolute sleaze balls too—the kind of guys that have chest hair and wear gold chains and thick watches, who practically ooze oil. I just find them fun! Lim was a good teacher, even when he was rough around the edges. It was sad doing what I had to do to him for the sake of the plot. But I feel like Lim understood the game as well as everyone else, and so he knew he was running on borrowed time. 

Of course, I loved writing Bae Goohee too! He was an absolute bastard! I loved writing this figure that is spoken about throughout the story as a frightening man, one so brutal that the readers are already wary of him before he even appears in the story. I believe that Taehyung refers to him as a 'guard dog' at some point. I think Bae is the scariest character in the story for me because he is so ruthless and willing to do any order that the Jeon clan give to him. That kind of blind and unwavering devotion is frightening!

I also enjoyed writing Sungah and Jangmi. I think they're the only female characters in the story that have dialogue? Sungah has a great backstory that I unfortunately couldn't go into too much in the story, but it shaped her character a lot. I like how frank and intelligent she is—she holds her own even in a department filled with men that receive far more praise than she does simply because she is a woman. She also allowed me to add an angle about the unfair treatment of women in jobs that have power, drawing parallels with how Taehyung faces discrimination from his fellow officers when his sexuality is abruptly revealed during the investigation. As for Jangmi, I just liked writing about the wife of a mob boss! And not one that is simply a trophy wife, but actually has a lot of power and influence across the city. I wish I had been able to feature her more, alongside her husband, Jeon himself. But I like the scenes they appear in and I enjoyed writing them.

For the rest of the members, I had Namjoon and Hoseok [BTS J-Hope/Jung Hoseok]'s characters planned right from the start. I had also created plans for Yoongi and Seokjin [BTS Jin/Kim Seokjin], but I wasn't sure how much of a role they would play in the overall story. As I started writing them, I realised that Yoongi would play an important role in both Taehyung and Jimin's character development, and so he ended up featuring a lot more than I had expected. I planned their jobs and then let them influence how I would write them. Namjoon and Hoseok's characters came naturally. Yoongi's character completely took over his job role and basic description and became a really strong character that I'm proud of. Seokjin was a little trickier because he doesn't appear in too many scenes—but the scenes he does are integral to the plot. I needed to make sure that his character said everything he needed to in his limited scenes. He has quite the bombshell to drop after all! Seokjin was also tricky because I wanted him to have an air of mystery around him. I wanted him to be the kind of guy that not even Taehyung and his police connections would be able to unearth much about; a ghost in the system. I would've also liked for him to feature more in the story, but I feel like his character appeared in the essential scenes that the story needed. He was going to feature more in the planned sequel, being one of the first characters to appear alongside Yoongi. He was going to serve an important role, so I'm disappointed that I didn't get to show those scenes to readers.

With Namjoon, I wanted to portray him as a mature character, but not one that was conservative and stiff. I thought about having him say things like 'man' but that seemed too casual and didn't suit his character. 'Man' made him seem more like a surfer than a police officer. But when he said 'brother' in one of the scenes, I realised the word suited him better. It was fraternal, and it allowed him to show some affection towards the other characters without having to have physical contact with them. It's not the only Namjoon I've written that says 'brother' a lot. In Valentino Summers, Namjoon has experience with hippies in the neighbourhood that he lives in, so he also refers to other characters like Jimin as 'brother.' It just seems to suit him! I guess it's because I like creating Namjoon characters that are intelligent and mature, but still have a gentle and warm presence. I could picture him saying it in real life (I'm certain he already has!)

When writing serious subject matter, I'm surprised to admit that I was never shocked by what I was writing! I guess it's because I already knew that I was going to be handling dark themes. I wouldn't have tackled such subjects had I not felt comfortable doing so. Dark content isn't for everyone, and by that I don't simply mean consuming it. Creating it can be very difficult for some writers, and can even cause distress. It's not easy diving into a world that is filled with crime, pain and fear. It's even harder putting yourself into the shoes of a character that is suffering/has suffered. I was never writing in a desensitised state though. Far from it. I'm actually very sensitive to violence in reality. In fiction, it depends on the violence—but I'm usually not too affected by it. I've been a fan of horror since I was a child, and so I've seen a lot of nasty films filled with gore and 'shocking' deaths that never really had much of an effect on me. Unrealistic violence doesn't scare me. But when it comes to personal violence, that is always frightening to me. It's far scarier writing a scene where a character feels threatened by another character and doesn't know what is going to happen to them then, say, writing a scene of a character dying a bloody, ridiculous death in a horror story. Personal violence is much more realistic, therefore it is more unsettling to write. In House of Cards, the violence is very personal. It's in your face, it's inescapable for the characters that are involved in it. But at no point did I ever feel like I needed to stop writing because I was uncomfortable or scared by the content. If I had been uncomfortable, it would have been very reckless of me to continue writing the story.

My word of advice to fellow dark content writers: it's always important to recognise your own boundaries. There's nothing wrong with removing dark content from a story if you get a bad vibe or feel strange when writing/reviewing it. Always follow your gut instincts and never put out work that you don't like.

When writing stories, I vary between titling the chapters and leaving them blank. For House of Cards, I cannot remember the exact method for naming the chapters. Sometimes, the title comes to me when I am writing the plans and I have an idea that just suits the mood of the chapter. Other times, I have finished the entire chapter and I have to spend some time reviewing the content to decide that the title will be. In some cases, I have finished most of a whole story and I'm still not certain what to title it! I feel like with House of Cards, the titles came after the chapters were finished, or at least when they were works-in-progress.

There are some titles that really stand out to me. 'Nice Teeth' for example, is a really ridiculous title. Going into the chapter, I don't think many readers would've imagined what it could mean. 'Submachine Sodomy' is even funnier. I really can't believe I chose that as a title! I'll bet a lot of readers saw it and thought, "Oh no! Not another gunplay scene!" Luckily for them, it wasn't a reference to Jungkook's predilection for firearms in bed.

In terms of chapter titles that I really like: 'Delusions of Grandeur,' 'I Own This Fucking City,' 'Sleeping Dogs Bite' and 'Carpe-fucking-Diem.' I just feel like these titles are very well suited to the contents of the chapters. They are the kind of titles that have bite to them, that hint at action or an important plot point.

As for the open ending, there are a couple of reasons. First of all, I had planned to continue the story in a sequel that would pick up after the events of House of Cards, roughly a year on after the investigation. However, I did not pursue this sequel. I wanted House of Cards to end on an open note for the sequel to continue the story. When it comes to certain stories, I just feel that closed endings aren't always necessary. I often enjoy stories with open endings. With House of Cards, it didn't seem right just closing the book and saying it was over. There was still so much that needed to be explored. Unfortunately, I decided to not continue it. But I still think that House of Cards' ending fits the story.

Were there any scenes or moments or lines in House of Cards that you were particularly proud of or want to highlight?

If you were to write the Yoomin sequel to House of Cards, how would’ve that looked like?

How were readers’ reactions to your work in the beginning?

Did any reader comments stick with you in particular?

How did you take the criticisms and hatred towards House of Cards for its serious subject matter? When did those types of comments start appearing? Also, where did the hatred come from? Twitter? Tumblr? Ao3 comments? Did people harass you at all or hurt you? How did you heal from that?

House of Cards has a lot of scenes. I'm proud of most of them and I think I did the best I could when writing them. I do not really like the sex scenes, but that is because I wanted to write them in a dirty, sleazy way. If I could, I would change them. I like the action scenes, especially the Gold Monkey Casino and police raid scenes. Action scenes are hard to write! Fight scenes in particular are so tricky. I often sit there, choreographing the fights so I can describe them! I loved writing Yoongi's introduction to the story, when he walks into the scene wearing nothing but his underpants.

One scene that I really liked writing is the scene where Namjoon and Hoseok investigate the USB stick that Taehyung sends to them. I personally love Namjoon and Hoseok's characters. I always enjoyed writing them. In this scene, I liked getting to write them in a setting that was not the police department office. A scene where they got to relax and banter with each other, even though they were still working. They discover a horrifying crime ring in the city, but they are left with no choice but to keep it secret because they do not want to risk blowing Taehyung's cover. I do not know why I really like this scene, I just do.

In the sequel, which focused primarily on Jimin and Yoongi, the plans were to have them reunite through Seokjin—who has avoided jail time through a plea deal with the SMPA. They undergo a healing process together as they try to come to terms with what happened to them. Yoongi has a lot of unhealed trauma from his childhood, much like Jimin, which I only got to briefly touch upon in House of Cards. They grow closer from bonding over their traumatic experiences, and they become happier and healthier as a result. Taehyung and Seokjin were also going to be main characters, with Jungkook, Namjoon and Hoseok making supporting appearances over the duration of the story. It was going to be drastically different from House of Cards because it would be lacking in action and violence. It would have been much more intimate, with much more scenes of characters talking and discovering things about one another.

I cannot remember early reactions to the story, I just know they were positive. There was a lot of positive support from the start. As I updated and started to get more and more into the story, I received a lot of support on tumblr too. I started posting chapter previews there, as I used to get asks [On Tumblr, users are able to ask bloggers questions through an “Ask” function. This can be done anonymously or with their own blog username associated with the question.] requesting them. I got A LOT of asks on my original Tumblr from readers that wanted to discuss the characters and certain scenes. It was really interesting seeing just how much the readers were interested in the story, so much so that they wanted to learn even more about the characters and the universe I had created.

Through House of Cards, I have received comments and messages from readers that had addictions. They told me about how they recognised their own behaviors through Taehyung, and this helped them realise what was happening to them. Those comments stuck with me for obvious reasons. I have family members with addiction issues, and knowing that I could help some stranger I have never met before come to terms with their own addictive behaviours had a massive impact on me. Funnily enough, a negative comment stuck with me. It was not a bad comment, by no means meant to cause offence. It was a comment that was left on the story when I was posting the early chapters. I recall the reader asking when the story was going to pick up the pace because it was too slow. It stuck with me because, at this point in the story, Taehyung had already trained to become an undercover agent, had enrolled in the gang, had met and interacted with Jungkook, and had murdered a man. I was surprised that this amount of development had been seen as 'slow' by a reader, as I had thought the plot had been moving very fast.

I never really had any hate posted on the story when I was updating it. I got angry reactions when I had finished it. Because the story had not ended the way some readers had wanted, I think that was what caused the negative reactions. On my original Tumblr, I even got an ask about how an anon reader was going to write their own ending because my one was bad. I told them that I did not want them to take my story and change it like that. I have no idea if they ever posted the ending anywhere. The angry reactions were mostly from shippers, who were upset with the story not ending the way they had wanted. To them, I ask: what were you expecting from the story? I thought it was always obvious that Taehyung was going to do what he had set out to do from the start, so I do not think I misled readers at all. It was a story about an undercover agent taking down a gang—and that is what I wrote.

I know there was some animosity towards me on Twitter too. Twitter is a whirlpool of negativity, I am not surprised. Writing House of Cards made me appear problematic. My partner used to follow an author a long time back, who tweeted about me being problematic—despite having never interacted with me or admittedly read my stories. It was shocking to me that people were making assumptions of who I was as a person based on a story I created. I have never created stories with the aims of hurting or upsetting others. I am a very quiet and private person, and I hate the idea of hurting others. It was strange to me that people could assume me to be this cruel or even dangerous individual, intent on hurting others, because I created a fictional story. Do they think the same of script writers for television shows? Or film directors, who create films with dark subject matter? Do they think published authors are problematic people for writing dark and disturbing content? Do they think certain genres should not exist because they do not personally like them?

I do think it is strange that fan fiction writers are placed on these ridiculously high pedestals of moral absolutism. Fan fiction was created to be a space for creative outlet for marginalised individuals, particularly queer individuals. The heavy censorship of dark and unusual content is putting this entire ethos at danger. I understand not wanting to have certain topics included in stories because there is a risk that the content can be used for grooming or can be presented in a way that can negatively affect young consumers' perceptions (like pedophilia for example.) I certainly agree that there needs to be boundaries in place to stop the community from being flooded with such illegal content. But I think there is a difference between wanting to remove dangerous content, and wanting to get rid of content you do not like. Content can be problematic to you, but that does not make it dangerous, illegal, or bad. For some readers, the content they create is their way of dealing with trauma. Maybe this is not healthy for them. But that is their decision to make, not yours.

I orphaned the story because I did not want to handle the potential backlash. To put it simply, I do not handle negative criticism well. Not because I am stuck-up and think I am perfect, but because I am a very anxious person. Just reading angry comments makes me feel very uncomfortable, often nauseous. I know that House of Cards has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from readers, and for that I am thankful. But I had to distance myself for the sake of my own mental health. Since orphaning it, it exploded in popularity. I am thankful that I orphaned it because that amount of attention would frighten me a lot, haha~

What was your reaction to the fanfiction trailer by Sappiamur?

How did you come to the decision to reveal your real name in the end note of House of Cards?

How did you feel when you finished House of Cards?

How did you come to the decision to orphan House of Cards?

Did you ever anticipate the overwhelming fan reaction to House of Cards?

How do you feel knowing that House of Cards is one of the most read fanfictions on Ao3?

What do you want House of Cards to be remembered for?

What do you hope people take away from House of Cards?

Why do you think House of Cards became so popular?

I had to go back and watch it. It's been some time since I last have, and I'm still as amazed by it now as I was back then. The trailer is insane. I cannot imagine how much work went into making it. It's so good and it fits the vibes of the story to perfection. I think the first time I watched it, I was in shock. I must have repeated it at least 10 times in a row, just to make sure it was real and I wasn't imagining it. Then I think I screamed about it on my social media accounts, haha~ If you reading this have not watched the trailer, consider doing so. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Back when I first started posting fanfics, I used to get a lot of asks wanting to know my name, my pronouns, stuff like that. I thought by adding my name at the end of the stories, it would help cut down on these requests. But I also did so because I used to get a lot of asks referring to me as 'author-nim' and I didn't like being addressed by this honorific. I'm not Korean so I have no right to receive that honorific. So, I included my real name so readers could address me with it when sending me asks and interacting with me. I don't add my name at the end of my stories now, but my name is in my Twitter bio for those that want to know.

When I finished it, I felt relieved! I was so calm in the moment! Looking back on it, I can't remember much. But I do remember finishing House of Cards without any issues. The final chapters flowed smoothly, it all clicked into place, and I had a great time writing them.

I came to the decision to orphan the story after several nights of contemplation. I was considering deleting the story, along with a few others, but my partner and some friends told me I shouldn't do so. They suggested orphaning it instead. So, I did so. I didn't want to delete it in case readers that had started it had not gotten to finish it yet. I would've felt very mean robbing them of the opportunity to finish the story like that. I don't regret orphaning it instead of deleting it. I didn't want to destroy the story, I just needed some distance between me and the story.

I didn't anticipate it, and I still don't understand it! I'm shocked that House of Cards got the reaction that it received. Do I think it's a good story? Yes, I think that I worked hard to create a story that is enjoyable to read. But did I ever think it would get the reaction it did? Not in a million years! I thought that it would be one of my more popular stories because a) the pairings and b) the content. Gang stories usually tend to get a lot of attention because it's a popular genre in fanfiction. I just didn't expect it to reach such a vast amount of hits, kudos and comments.

I'm in shock that it is one of the most read stories on AO3. I don't think I will ever be able to create another story that will garner that kind of attention and feedback. It's a once in a lifetime thing, so I'm immensely proud of myself for achieving such a feat. But really, it's all because of the readers that it achieved such a goal. I'm so thankful for every single one of them.

I just want it to be remembered for being enjoyable, I think. I don't have any grand and lofty ambitions for the story. I think so long as the readers enjoyed it, that is all that matters.

I'm not sure what I would like readers to take away from House of Cards. I guess I want them to reflect on the idea of morality and that not everything is black-and-white. Good people can do bad things, and bad things can happen to good people. It's hard to answer this question because House of Cards isn't a story that I consider to have deep messages in it? There are no messages about acceptance and love and healthy relationships and such, like some of my other stories.

Honestly? I don't know what made it get so popular. I assume it's because of the pairings or the setting of the story. I know that a lot of readers say they love the story because of how well it's written, but I can't comment on that as the creator, haha~ I can't say my story is well-written as I'm not consuming it from an outside perspective. What I can say is that I do think I created a story that has a lot of twists and turns and betrayals, which I think adds to the enjoyment factor.

How are you now in 2020? Are you writing professionally in real life at all? 

How do you feel BTS fanfiction has changed over time? Since you’ve been writing for it for so long. 

Do you have any messages for people who may read this interview in the future?

I'm not writing professionally. I have self-published two books via Amazon and Lulu. One was a basic re-branding of my story babes in the woods. The other was a total rewrite of Brotherhood, which I called 'Brothers,' featuring a whole new setting and roster of characters. I published them as readers showed an interest in reading original stories. I have been considering rewriting House of Cards as an original work in the future, but I can't say for certain that I will do so.

Since I started writing, I think there's been a lot of changes in the fandom—not only in fanfiction but in general. There's been popular trends that have come and gone (I was around for the explosion of social media and text-based AUs, which I personally am not a fan of) but there's also been a lot of push for more inclusive content. I'm really happy by the amount of inclusive content that I see these days. Despite some pushback from non-queer fans that sometimes have an issue with queer subject matter (for example, trans characters) I think it's wonderful that artists of all colours, genders and sexualities are now proudly creating content they want to see, and not simply just what is 'in demand' from the fandom.

The message that I would like to share with readers of this interview is: stay healthy, stay happy, and most importantly, stay you. I also want to take this moment to tell them this - if you are considering becoming a creator, but you are worried about reception to your work, or that it might not be good enough, stop right now! Stop doubting yourself and just give it a shot! I was once like you, scared that my weird and niche interests and writing would be ignored or even mocked by the fandom because no one would like it. Had I not decided to take the plunge, my life would be so drastically different. I've made so many friends, fallen in love, and completely changed my life by creating fan content. It can be scary, but once you take the leap, you will find your feet coming down on solid earth without any danger.

Thank you for reading this interview. Further below are reminders and information about this interview and Charmseoul’s Fanlore project.

sugamins is still writing on her sugamins Archive of Our Own account today if you are looking for her works. Charmedseoul will not be sharing the author’s social media or contact information.

This interview is a part of the Top 50 Most Hit BTS Archive of our Own Works Project by Charmedseoul. The project documents the works and authors of the top 50 most hit BTS works on Archive of Our Own. All work for this project is done through Fanlore, which is run by the Organization of Transformative Works. However, Charmedseoul herself is not associated with Fanlore or OTW directly. All information documented through this project is done with full transparency.

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This interview was conducted through email from September 23, 2020 to October 25th, 2020 with sugamins’ consent and protections under Fanlore’s Identity Protection policies. Unauthorized reposting of this interview is forbidden. Quotation and screenshot share of this interview is allowed.

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Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

Charmed Seoul. Fandom Historian based on Fanlore.com. Twitter. Tumblr.

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Killer Combo - Ch 1 The First Match

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 Epilogue | Bonus Tidbits | ART inspired by this story! | AO3 | Fiction Master Post

Max and Marinette have been playing in the Ultimate Mecha Strike III professional leagues for a few years but they're finally making the jump to the Master League in hopes of winning a cash prize that will let them make their dreams a reality. Team Lucky Charm is on their way, but Marinette faces a challenge in the individual league—she can't seem to beat former champion Viperion.

Aged-up Lukanette

When I took prompt suggestions on tumblr for my follower milestone event, one of the prompts was "reverse crush" and another was "Luka beats Marinette at video games and she gets all gooey over him" (not the exact words). Neither option got picked in the voting but somewhere along the line they melded together in my brain and I thought I'd give it a shot.

It was supposed to be another chapter for I'll Never Not Know You and then suddenly I was 15k words in and like...this is not a one shot anymore. So I bring it to you as a new chapter story instead. I hope you'll enjoy!

“It’s your third Master league event,” Max observed with some amusement as he watched Marinette bounce on her toes in front of the door about to open for her. “Your win record is above 94% from the last two. How are you still nervous?” 

“I’m not nervous,” Marinette insisted. “Not really. Just ready to get started!” She added, almost to herself, “I didn’t expect to play him so soon. I mean, I didn’t even know he was back in the league this year.” 

“That is a little surprising,” Max agreed, adjusting his glasses as he looked down at Marinette’s match list in his hand. “We could have prepared more if we had known sooner that he was returning. His rank is only marginally higher than yours at the moment, however. Numerically, your third match will be of much more importance. There’s a much bigger disparity between your ranks which will mean a bigger jump in rank for you if you win.” 

“If I win?” Marinette teased, nudging him. “So much faith, Max.” She slipped her red-and-black hoodie off of her shoulders, and then pulled it off entirely, deciding it was too warm to wear in the closed match space. Ultimate Mech Strike III had been gaining steadily in popularity, and the pro leagues were getting more and more of an audience. With that came an increase in both exposure and cash prizes—and a corresponding increase in cheating. The Master and Grandmaster leagues now held their match events in person at local exhibit halls and convention centers, with players isolated from interference in “pyrapods” that held standardized headsets, controllers, and screens—but they could be a bit stuffy. Matches were streamed from the game center live on the website, and the players who brought in the most traffic were targeted for sponsorships and interviews.

“I can calculate the odds if you—” Max began, but the door to her pyrapod slid open, indicating it was time for the match to begin. Marinette shared a quick fistbump with Max, and then tossed him her hoodie and bounced inside without hesitation.  

She donned the provided headset (which still smelled of cleaner, but she was more inclined to be thankful than annoyed) and picking up the controller. The screen in front of her lit up with the view that would be livestreamed. 

Marinette set her feet and pressed the button on the counter to indicate she was ready. She took a deep breath and waited for her opponent, rolling up and down on her toes as she tried to settle the nerves she’d told Max she didn’t have. 

The voice channel crackled to life in her ear as Viperion put his headset on in his own pod. 

“Ladybug vs. Viperion,” the dispassionate electronic voice announced, “Prepare for countdown to match start.”

“Ladybug, huh?” Viperion said, and Marinette blinked at the quiet, smooth voice. “Nice to meet you. I heard some new blood was tearing up the ladder. I’m excited to take you on.” 

“Likewise,” Marinette told him, eyebrows raising slightly. “I didn’t expect to go up against a former champion so soon.” She’d been shocked when she saw his name on the list of computer-generated matchups she’d gotten at registration. He should have been much too high up on the ladder to get matched up against her. This was only her third match event in the Master League. She’d only moved up this month—and now she had a month to get out of the bottom 5% before she’d be dropped down to the lower leagues again. 

So, champion or not, Viperion was going down.

“I had other commitments last year,” he replied, and she could hear the smile in his voice. “So I’m in with the newbies this year. Don’t worry, I’ll be back up the ladder and out of your hair soon enough.” 

Marinette scoffed but the ten second match countdown popped up before she could respond. 

“Good luck, Ladybug,” Viperion said.

“Same to you, Viperion,” Marinette replied, eyes fixed on the big red numbers ticking down until the word FIGHT flashed once and the game began.

Marinette was used to trash talk, was even good at it. She’d come to enjoy trading quips and good-natured insults, at least until she started winning. Then her opponents tended to either get quiet or get nasty.

Viperion, by contrast, was nearly silent from the beginning. Every once in a while she thought she heard...humming? over her headset, but she wasn’t sure. 

“Oh, nice,” he breathed finally, when she landed a major combo on him. “Oh, hell, here we go, it’s on now—” But it was almost like he was talking to himself rather than trying to trash talk her. 

“You wanted it, I brought it,” she muttered back through the headset. 

“Show me what you got, Ladybug,” he chuckled. “I can take it.”

Marinette’s eyebrows rose slightly at that. Cocky, she thought, grinning to herself at the thought of taking him down, former champion or no.

She wasn’t smiling for long. Viperion wasn’t cocky, he was right. He could take it. His snake-based mech specialized in status effects, and he used his haste and slow abilities masterfully to compensate for his relatively weak armor. He hadn’t neglected his damage stats either; his venom strike didn’t pack a lot of punch up front but the damage dealt over time added up. She’d never seen anyone use this combination of abilities so effectively without a partner to tank for them. Marinette’s lips got tighter and tighter as her health bar turned blue and then red. She was adapting, finding his weak spots, but not fast enough. She had him in the red but—Marinette smashed one last combo in desperation but she could see even as she did it that Viperion had the edge, and she sighed in frustration and let her controller fall on the counter in front of her as GAME OVER flashed in red letters on her screen, followed by the image of Viperion’s mech and the word WINNER over and over. 

“Whew.” The breath Viperion blew out fuzzed over her microphone. “Nice try, Ladybug. Good game.”

Well, at least he was a gracious winner, she thought grumpily. “You too, Viperion,” she said, as sincerely as she could manage, and pulled her headset off with a sigh.

Max was waiting for her outside the pod with his phone in his hand, where he’d no doubt been watching the livestream of the match, and a sympathetic look on his face—at least, she thought he was giving her a sympathetic look from behind his dark glasses. “Too many variables with an unexpected opponent,” he reassured her. “And Viperion is the former champion. We’ll study the match and improve your odds for next time.” 

Marinette mustered a smile and threw her arm around his neck, though nowadays she practically had to stand on tiptoe to do it. “Thanks Max.” He grinned, adjusting his glasses in the way he always did when he was pleased he’d said the right thing. “Well, Ladybug may be down but she’s not out, and Team Lucky Charm is still on top. I’ll win the rest of my matches and then we’ll tear up the two-on-two, right Pegasus?” 

“Odds of victory 94.3%, Ladybug,” Max grinned, and she pulled her arm back to bump fists with him. Then she slapped him on the back, right on the big silver horseshoe on the back of his black hoodie. The skinny boy staggered, but chuckled, and handed Marinette back her own hoodie, red with black on the shoulders and black spots traveling up her forearms from the black cuffs, with a large five-spotted ladybug emblem on the back. She slipped it back on over her tank top and checked her reflection in the mirrored pillar framing the pod. The red mask dusted across her eyes with makeup, accented by black eyeliner dots, was still mostly intact. She gave her pigtails a quick tug each to tighten them and grabbed her black lipstick out of her pocket, reapplying quickly.

“All right,” she said, turning to find Max looking at his own reflection over her shoulder and adjusting the small silver horseshoe pendant hanging at his throat. She was still a little bitter that he was suddenly taller than her, but he just grinned when he caught her pouting at him. He’d been the small and skinny one for so long that he was totally fine with being a beanpole now. “Two more matches to go, and then we’re up.” She softened slightly. “You know you don’t have to wait for me. It’d be okay if you’d rather just wait and show up for the team matches. Or if you want to go check out the competition while I play.”

Max just smiled and shook his head. “I can’t abandon my teammate to her inevitable nerves in her hour of need.” 

Marinette scrunched up her face. “I’m not that bad.” 

Max just chuckled. “You have fifteen minutes before your next match,” he reminded her. “Given your usual patterns I suggest you use them for a bathroom break.”

Marinette groaned. “That’s creepy, Max,” she muttered. But she also followed his advice, the match with Viperion still on her mind. He was more adaptable than she expected, she reflected as she pouted her black-painted lips in thought. She was still frowning when she returned from the bathroom, but Max gave her an awkward punch in the arm, bringing her back to the present and she smiled at him again. Max was right, she’d beat Viperion next time, and losing to him just made beating her next opponents that much more important.

The rest of the day went much better. Marinette swept her the rest of her matches, including the all-important third one. The two-on-two competition was likewise satisfying. Ladybug and Pegasus had been playing together for a long time and they were a well-coordinated team. Marinette’s power and versatility coupled with Max’s diligent data gathering and analysis made them pretty unstoppable. They went undefeated and exited their pyrapods whooping and cheering, buzzed on their own success.   

“Yes!” Marinette exclaimed, hugging Max. “We’re on the road, Max! One step closer to making Markov Robotics and Miraculous Designs a reality!”

“We still have a considerable distance to go before that happens,” Max cautioned, whipping out his calculator. Marinette put a hand gently over it.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” she quoted cheerfully. “Let’s just enjoy the moment, Max.”

“Yes, of course,” Max smiled, putting away his calculator. “You are correct, Marinette. I did have concerns as to whether we would be able to succeed at this level after lingering at the top of the Diamond League so long. I won’t be able to accurately calculate our odds of success for a few more events, but the outcomes so far have been encouraging.”

“That’s the spirit!” Marinette cheered. Her step hesitated lightly. “Do you want to go to the post-match social?”

Max winced, looking as reluctant as she felt. “We probably should,” he said, shoulders slumping slightly. “We are new to this league, after all. It won’t help us to make a poor impression.” 

“Or none,” Marinette sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say that.” 

“Perhaps a community of more serious gamers will have a more mature attitude,” Max suggested hopefully. “The time commitments and skill level required at this level are not insignificant.”

Marinette smiled. “You’re right, Max. Way to look on the bright side! Come on, let’s make some new friends.” 

Marinette took a deep breath as they entered the main hall, where quite a few people were milling around. 

Of course, she noticed the clothes first. There was a fair amount of UMS gear on display—not surprising. Some people wore hats or pins or other small tokens referencing their mechas, but nobody, she noted with satisfaction, had anything nearly as cool or as customized, nor anything approaching a complete look, as she and Max did. 

“Ladybug?”

Marinette turned and looked up in slight surprise. And then up a little further. The boy—man? young man—standing behind her was several inches taller than Max, and surprisingly well-built and tanned for a gamer. He was...kinda hot, actually, in a lean, slightly lanky sort of way, which made Marinette tense a little, but his smile was friendly and his blue eyes were...wow.

“I thought that must be you,” he smiled, indicating her clothes with a slight gesture. “Nice look.” 

“Marinette designed and created our attire herself,” Max put in proudly as Marinette tried to remember how to make words.

“Oh, nice,” the stranger said with appreciation, and Marinette blinked. 

“Viperion?” she asked. The voice was unmistakable. 

“In the flesh. My name’s Luka. Nice to meet you,” Viperion said, his smile widening as he offered his hand. “Good game. Great game, actually, you were amazing. You really had me sweating.” 

“Thanks,” Marinette replied, her smile tight, but Max nudged her and she managed something a little more sincere as she shook Luka’s hand, a little surprised to find it rough and calloused. Clearly gaming wasn’t his only pastime. (Not like that was special, it wasn’t hers either, and her fingertips were calloused too.) “I’m Marinette. Next time it’ll be better.”

“No doubt,” Luka said warmly, and his voice, smooth and deep and even more appealing without the tinny sound of the headsets, also gave the impression of gentleness even as he squeezed her hand lightly before letting go. “I’m looking forward to it. I hope we can play again sometime, Marinette, I had a lot of fun.” 

Marinette’s smile turned a little more genuine in spite of how much she hated to lose. It had been a good match. “I did too, actually. You played a really good game, Luka. Oh, this is my two-on-two partner, Max—Pegasus.” 

Luka smiled at Max, leaning in to shake hands with him as well. “Nice to meet you.”

He really was good looking, Marinette grudgingly admitted. Luka’s hair was black and cut short on the sides, but longer on top, hanging nearly into his eyes, and dyed the same turquoise as his mech. He had a jaw that could cut glass and a sharp chin and nose, but the overall impression was softened by an easy, dimpled grin, worn, comfortably tattered clothes (including the most dire hoodie Marinette had ever seen over a UMS shirt that must have been at least five years old), and relaxed attitude.

“I saw your matches in the co-op tournament,” Luka was saying as he pulled back from the handshake. “Congrats on your wins, you guys really destroyed everyone there.”

“Yeah, well, you weren’t there, were you,” Marinette challenged, grin widening as she folded her arms and cocked a hip. 

“Nah, I don’t usually play the two-on-two,” Luka laughed, and it was a pleasant laugh, genuine and not mocking. “The individual tournament’s more than enough challenge for me most days. I love video games, but they’re not all there is to life, you know?” 

“Yeah,” Marinette nodded slowly, uncomfortable with the way her stomach suddenly felt like jelly. “That’s true—” She jolted suddenly as somebody crashed into her from behind. Luka put his hands out quickly, catching her shoulders.

“Hey, sorry—oh, it’s the bug,” a voice said behind her, followed by a beleaguered sigh. Marinette’s expression twisted slightly before she put on her game face and turned around to face the man who’d run into her. He had a goatee and wore a jacket with a ruff around the neck like a lion’s mane. “Thought I left you behind.”

“What a surprise,” Marinette said, her voice dripping with sweetness as she turned away from him slightly to make sure Max was okay where he’d been knocked into the rail. Max gave her a slight nod as he straightened his glasses and got his footing, waving away Luka’s offered hand. “I thought the same about you,” she continued, turning her back to Leo with her fakest smile.  

“Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home,” he singsonged, and then sneered. “Before you get squashed.” 

Marinette’s eyes narrowed, but she merely inspected her fingernails. “Not by you, apparently, considering how today’s match went.” 

He went red in the face. “Listen, little bug—” 

“Woah, rude much?” Luka said, folding his arms. “Come on, man, show some respect, we’re all competitors here.” 

“And you are?” 

“Luka,” he replied, a slight edge in his voice. “Viperion.” 

“Oh, hey, Viperion. I’m Leo.” He held out his hand and leaned toward Luka, forcing Marinette to take a step back. She felt Max put a hand on her shoulder and squeeze, and tossed him a smile to show she was okay. “Nice to meet you, I didn’t know you were back this year. I watched you in the final a couple years ago, it was sick.”

Luka met his hand slowly and shook it. “Thanks,” he said, glancing at Marinette. “But we were talking, so if you don’t mind—” 

“Oh, yeah, sure, I’m sure we’ll meet up again,” Leo said, taking a step back. “I’ll see you around, Viperion.”

“Not if I see you first,” muttered Luka as the guy walked away. He glanced at Marinette and Max. “You guys okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” Marinette chirped, with a hollow laugh. “He’s old news, I’m used to it.” 

“That sucks,” Luka said bluntly, frowning. “You shouldn’t have to get used to that kind of crap,” he said, an edge of frustration in his voice that Marinette hadn’t heard from him even during the match. “Damnit, they were supposed to be stepping up enforcement of the sportsmanship guidelines when I left. I guess it fell through. Again,” he muttered, glancing at the bored looking official standing nearby. 

“I gotta hand it to you, Ladybug—Marinette,” he continued. “You’re tough as nails, and not just in a match.” He glanced back in the direction Leo had gone and grinned. “You kicked his ass, huh?”

Marinette grinned back. “Wiped the floor with him.” 

“Sweet.” Luka held out his hand for a fist bump and Marinette obliged. 

“It won’t matter in a month,” Max said with certainty. “I don’t even need to calculate the odds; he won’t make it out of the bottom before the cutoff.” He adjusted his glasses. “His mech is powerful but his strategy is inconsistent and short-sighted.”

Luka blinked, glancing at Marinette, who shrugged and grinned. “If Max said it, then it’s as good as fact.”

Luka chuckled. “Is that so? Should I even ask about my odds?”

“No,” Marinette said quickly, just as Max began, “Actually, without additional data my predictions are only thirty percent reliable beyond the third month—”

Luka went from chuckling to full on laughing. “You two are funny. Well hey, you’ve certainly got my respect if it matters. I’m a little surprised you’ve only just moved up to Master, you’re really good.”

Marinette made a face. “We couldn’t make the minimum match count last year. Too many school commitments. It’s easier to work around a university schedule.”

“Team Lucky Charm was the Diamond League champion for the last two years,” Max announced proudly, though Marinette blushed a touch at the open boasting.  

“Well, welcome to the big leagues,” Luka grinned. “Like I said, I hope we’ll play again, Marinette.”

“Statistically probable,” Max began, but Marinette stepped lightly on his foot and he shut his mouth. 

“Oh we will,” she promised, eyes narrowing slightly though a smile was tugging at her lips. “I’ll see you in the playoffs, if nothing else. Then again,” she smirked. “You may not find it as easy to leave me behind as you think. I’ll be on your ass all the way to the top of the ladder.”

Luka gave her a slow grin that made her insides go all wobbly again as he checked the time on his phone. “I’m looking forward to it,” he told her, giving her a quick wave as he turned to go. “Nice meeting you both. See you guys next time.” 

Marinette raised a hand automatically to wave back. He shot her a positively roguish smile before disappearing into the crowd. 

And to her horror, Marinette blushed. Hard.

Behind her, Max snickered. Marinette threw an elbow back into his gut, but he dodged and just laughed harder. 

“You’re doing well, Marinette,” Max reassured her from the small window at the top of her screen. “Your rank has been increasing after every match event. You easily got out of the bottom 5% before the drop cutoff, and Team Lucky Charm continues to climb the ladder as well. I’m not sure why you’re so focused on this.”

“Because I’m losing , Max,” Marinette complained. “My win rate against Viperion sucks, and you can’t deny it.” She threw herself back in her chair with a huff. “And I can’t even be mad about it. I’m mean I’m mad about it, but I’m mad because he’s a great player and I deserved to lose every time.”

“It’s true that your win-loss record against him is—” Marinette shot Max a glare. “Suboptimal,” he offered, with an apologetic shrug. “However, you are improving against him every time and you did win your last match.”

“One,” Marinette groaned. “One match out of six. The stupid computer keeps matching us up.” 

“The fact remains that you have been more successful as you gain more experience playing him,” Max pointed out. Then he smirked. “And I don’t believe you are as annoyed with being matched with Viperion at all.” 

Marinette’s mouth drew into a pout. “Low, Max. So what if he’s cute? I still want to beat him.” 

“I’m sure you do,” Max sniggered, and Marinette’s mouth dropped open.

“Max Kanté!” she gasped, grabbing a crumpled up piece of paper from her desk and pitching it at her webcam. 

Max shrugged unrepentantly on the screen, unbothered by the projectile. “Kim has been my best friend for years. I am not as naive as people like to think.” He made a face. “Unfortunately.”

Marinette giggled. 

“Admit it, Marinette,” Max said smugly, folding his arms. “You don’t hate Viperion.”

“No,” Marinette sighed. “I almost wish I could hate him, but I don’t.” He was just so...nice. And fun, honestly. She couldn’t even hate playing him because the more she played him, the more talkative he got, and she enjoyed his subtle trash talk and open teasing. It was...like playing with a friend. 

A friend whose unreasonably attractive ass (not that she was looking) Marinette was determined to kick. 

Marinette groaned and let her face fall onto the pile of interviews and match analyses she was going through again. Not that any of it had helped the first time. Or the fifth. Or the fiftieth.

“That doesn’t look good,” came a teasing voice from behind her.

“Hi Alya,” Marinette mumbled without looking up. “Don’t mind me, just wallowing my in my failures.”

“Still haven’t beaten that one guy, huh?” Alya asked with a grin, and Marinette heard her throw herself down onto the chaise. “Hi Max!”

“Hi Alya,” Max replied. 

“So what’s his name again?” Alya asked. “Viper?” 

“Viperion,” Marinette corrected. “And once. I’ve beaten him one time out of six.” 

“Is he a jerk?” Alya asked. “I know you have a lot of trouble with those guys.” 

Marinette tried to fight the smile that wanted to spread over her face, but Alya’s widening eyes proved it would be futile anyway. “He’s not a jerk. He’s...sweet, actually. And funny. He seems like a nice guy.” 

“A very attractive nice guy,” Max snickered again. 

“Ooooh,” Alya giggled, and Marinette sat up, glaring at her traitor of a partner.

“So, wait,” Alya sat backwards in Marinette’s second chair, leaning her arms on the back of it. “Let me get this straight.” She held up one hand and began to tick off her fingers. “He’s hot. He’s nice. You know he’s good with his hands—”

“Alya!”

“She’s not wrong.” Max nodded sagely. “It’s true that the speed at which he executes his combos requires a higher than average level of dexterity.”

“Max!” Marinette whirled to face him and scowled. She was so going to have words with Kim.

Alya just grinned wickedly and kept going. “He knows how to change things up and keep it interesting—” 

“ Alya!” 

“And he knows when to slow things down and when to go hard and fast—” 

“ ALYA CÉSAIRE !” 

Max burst out laughing and Alya raised her hands and eyebrows both. “You said it all girl, I’m just recapping!” 

“Oh my God,” Marinette groaned, putting her head in her arms on her desk. “I didn’t say any of it like that!”

"Nevertheless, you did say it," Max pointed out, trying to smother his laughter without much success.

Marinette muffled her scream in her arms and then shot up, reaching for the computer. “Goodbye, Max. You better find a new partner because I have to go kill my best friend now.” She switched off the video call and dropped her head back into her arms.

“You liiiiiike this guy,” Alya teased. 

“Yes,” Marinette muttered, giving into the inevitable.

Alya started slightly, sitting up straight. “Wait, what?”

Marinette raised her head. “I do like him,” she whined. “I really, really like him.” 

“Does he have a girlfriend?” Alya asked, grinning.

Marinette sighed and pitched a gaming magazine at her. It fell open immediately to the well-worn interview. Marinette knew it practically by heart, but Alya raised her eyebrows and began reading aloud. 

“Viperion, real name Luka Couffaine. Twenty years old—Ooh, an older man, Marinette—” 

“Two years,” Marinette muttered, letting her face fall onto her arms. “Barely. Not a big deal.” 

Alya continued to read what Marinette already knew; other hobbies included music and motorcycles, no girlfriend not that it mattered why did they even ask that—it all seemed to point to him being a laid back, relaxed kind of guy, who played because he genuinely enjoyed the game and was good at it. He was competitive enough to keep his edge but he didn’t take the competition too seriously. 

“So how much time have you actually spent talking to him?” Alya asked, giving her a sharp look. 

“We talk every time I play him,” Marinette said, sitting up in her chair. “He comes to find me after every match, shakes my hand and says I played a good game, and we chat for a few minutes about whatever.” She was starting to look forward to their short conversations, to his rough hand enveloping hers and the lilt in his smooth voice when he teased her. Even if Max gave her hell afterwards because even he wasn’t so obsessed with his numbers that he couldn’t tell something was going on. Marinette might not be the stuttering, blushing mess 

“How’d he do when you beat him?” Alya asked, eyebrows raised, and Marinette turned away to straighten the knick knacks on her desk so that Alya wouldn’t see her smile.

“Just the same. He seemed just as happy as when he wins. All he said was not to get too comfortable because we’re not in the playoffs yet.” Her smile fell slightly. “Which is true,” she sighed. “If I can’t beat him in the finals it doesn’t matter how many rank matches I win. He can afford a loss or two, even to me.”

“Even to you,” Alya echoed with a scoff. “Marinette, you’re the best UMS player I’ve ever seen.”

Marinette refrained from pointing out that Alya hadn’t actually seen that many. “That doesn’t always matter,” she shrugged. “Guys don’t like getting beat by a girl. Really, our rankings are so close that losing to me doesn’t hurt him that much. He doesn’t lose anything by being nice to me.”

“But…” Alya raised her eyebrows, and Marinette blushed.

“He’s nice to everybody,” she said with a small shrug, turning to her desk and tossing another magazine Alya’s way. “He’s a popular player. Not only is he a former champion but he’s personable and he has such a unique playing style, his matches get a lot of traffic on the livestream. They interview him a lot—” 

“Probably doesn’t hurt that he’s cute,” Alya commented. “From a marketing perspective, he’s a great face to put out there to the public. Helps dispel the idea that all gamers are—” Her eyes darted towards the screen where Max had been a moment ago. “Nerds,” she finished finally with an apologetic shrug. 

Marinette rolled her eyes but conceded the point. “He talks about sportsmanship and not taking yourself too seriously in almost every interview,” she said, pointing to the magazine in Alya’s hands. She herself had it practically memorized. 

Q. I understand you’ve been calling for the league to up the enforcement of their sportsmanship practices. There’s been discussions about implementing a fine or rank penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior. 

A. Yeah, I have, and I think that’s really important. I mean, when it comes down to it, we’re all here to play the game because we love it. Of course the money matters, but it’s not the only thing that matters. Making money off something you love is great in theory but if you let the thought of the money take all the joy out of what you’re doing, then you might as well work a desk job and let your hobbies stay hobbies. We’re not gladiators fighting to the death. We lose nothing by treating our opponents with respect, no matter whether it’s a girl or a guy, or somebody younger or older than you or with a different skin color, we’re all here because we love the game, and we ought to respect that love in other people. Bottom line, the league has guidelines in place for a reason and they should be enforced.  

Marinette wasn’t sure how that made her feel. Really, he was right; the league was too lax about enforcing their sportsmanship guidelines across the board, and players like Marinette and Max suffered the most for it. A certain amount of trash talk was accepted but using abusive language or attacking a player’s sex, sexuality, or race was supposed to be against the rules, but she’d seen those rules enforced only a handful of times in any of the leagues she’d played in, and without any penalty to back it up, the rules largely went ignored.

Alya’s whistle snapped her back to reality. “Girl, you’ve got it bad. I haven’t seen you this deep in lala land since—” 

Marinette groaned and put her head in her hands. “No. No, Alya, I can’t do this again,” she whined. “He’s older, he’s cool, he’s probably got a million people interested in him, and I’m—”

“You.” Alya began ticking off her fingers. “You’re a brilliant designer and a super creative mind. You’re also like, the nicest of the nice when you’re not in a competition. You know famous people—”

“One famous person.”

“Jagged Stone. Nadia Chamack. My mother.”

Marinette sighed, slumping. “Fine.”

“I’m just saying, don’t give up before you even talk to the guy,” Alya said, getting up to sit in Marinette’s second desk chair and take Marinette’s hands in hers. “I know the last time shook you up but you’re still an amazing person and just because Adrien couldn’t see it doesn’t mean that no one else will.” 

Marinette managed a half-hearted smile and some kind of response that must have satisfied Alya, because before long her best friend was chattering on about other topics.   

The thing was, Alya just didn’t understand. Many, many of the male gamers Marinette met were very nice, normal people, a small percentage were a little too eager to be friendly, some were fine until she beat them and then they became cold and closed-mouthed around her. 

Then there were some who were downright hostile from the first moment she stepped in. Those nasty standouts were the reason she leaned into her Ladybug persona, separating Marinette from the gaming world as much as possible. Her hoodie and mask makeup were armor as much as branding, allowing her to slip into a tough shell that could handle the abuse hurled at her.

She could see it in Max, too, the difference between his everyday self and Pegasus. As her partner he both witnessed the vitriol flung at her and came in for a fair share himself, and not just because of his association with her. She felt guilty about it but Max had stood by her even when she suggested he might be better off with a male partner, so she did her best to keep up her bluster and sharpen her tongue to shield her sensitive partner from the worst of the abuse. Team Lucky Charm always showed up to the matches with their game faces on, Pegasus behind his dark glasses and Ladybug with her blue eyes burning defiance from her red and black mask. 

Marinette and Max had agreed to make the commitment to move up to the Master League because they both had big plans and big dreams. Marinette depended on her gaming winnings to support her more experimental designs, which, when they went well, earned her more commissions. Every commission took her one step closer to her dream of owning her own boutique line. Max used his gaming money to fund his robotics research and experimentation. Both their dreams were on the line. No matter how much fun she had playing Viperion, sooner or later, they’d be out of these rank matches and facing each other in playoff elimination matches. She had to figure out how to beat him before then. 

Ladybug couldn’t afford to be getting soft over a velvet voice, a slow smile, and gentle eyes, no matter how many butterflies took flight in her stomach when she talked to him. No matter how good of a guy he was, Ladybug needed to beat Viperion.

[cosplayinamerica]

COSPLAY THEME PAGE : ShareMyCosplay.com

Tell us about ShareMyCosplay, what was the genesis of the ShareMyCosplay? 

Share My Cosplay has gone through quite the journey to get to what you see today. I can still remember the day that I came up with the idea that would eventually lead to Share My Cosplay. I was eating lunch with a few friends at my day job. A friend of mine showed me a cosplay of Jessica Nigri as Pikachu, and because I worked in IT,  for some reason had an idea of doing a website related to cosplay. The actual website took a while to set up, but I started off slowly, with an initial launch on social media. We launched with Tumblr and Twitter, slowly building an audience. Then eventually a little bit later adding Facebook, and eventually much later introducing Instagram into the “family’. Eventually we added the website and have been going strong since then. We’ve of course made tons of adjustments over the years, and most recently started adding content on YouTube. It’s been a great ride so far, and hopefully it will continue.

What was your first experience with cosplay as well as the convention scene?

Like a lot of people who are into gaming and comic books, I was aware of cosplay, but didn’t really know much about it. It was only after looking into the idea of starting a site that I really got to know what goes on behind the scenes. It was meeting and talking to people in the scene that made me realize what an amazing community of people are involved. That is why I have continued the site for so long. As our social media following grew, I got to know more and more of the cosplayers, and was so happy I was able to use what I had created to help them gain more exposure. Share My Cosplay exists as a place where all cosplayers can have their work properly showcased.

As for conventions. While I live in the capital city of Canada, Ottawa is a relatively small city of one million people. Conventions have only really made it big in the last 5 years or so and before that were never a really big thing. I had travelled to other cities within Canada for some conventions, but those were mainly toy based conventions, so there would just be a handful of devoted cosplayers hanging out. It wasn’t until much later, when conventions started to take off, that our city got it’s own “Comic-con”. Then things exploded quickly. When our first Ottawa Comic-con launched, I was there day one, and the lineup was out of the building and wrapped around the whole building. I think it took a couple of hours to actually get into the convention floor. I could only assume it was similar to something like entering SDCC, but on a much smaller scale.

So while that has been a staple in our city for the last 10 years, I’ve also been traveling to Montreal Comic-con, which is a little bigger. Since there are maybe fewer conventions in Canada, people seem to come from great distances to show off the cosplays they had worked out. The dream has always been to try and get to SDCC, but that hasn’t happened yet. Travel is so expensive from Canada.

So for the short term I had set my sights on visiting NYCC, which is a “quick” drive from my area of Canada. However like all plans, they fell through. I had plans to go to NYCC and E3 in 2020, but of course those fell through because of what happened around the world. I miss conventions. One because they are such a great way to meet and interact with the cosplayers, and two, it’s one of the primary places we get content to share on our site and pages. So that has been lacking for us recently. Fingers crossed things will get back to normal soon.

How has cosplay changed over the years in your perspective?

Like everything you get to know, it evolves and grows over time. Being knee deep in cosplay all the time (my inbox once had 100+gb of cosplay submissions), I have certainly seen it change over the years. Obviously cosplays have become more elaborate in construction. Things like LEDs are so cheap now, I always find it amazing when people incorporate them into a costume. So the cosplay builds just get bigger and better every year. Also I find the resources on the internet have gotten better. Cosplayers are now able to find more detailed pictures of what they want to create, giving them a way better idea of what and how they will do it for a certain character.

Another thing that has changed, are the absolutely stunning Cosplay edits you’ll see on social media. So why the cosplay photographers have always been an integral part of the equation (we try hard to tag them when people include their details on submissions), the level that the editing on pictures has changed over the years is dramatic. You’ll often see the time-lapsed photo creations on Social, and they are just mesmerizing to watch. People put so much time into creating these worlds to help elevate the cosplay to the next level. That has certainly changed over the years. That being said, we still love regular shots of cosplay too, the amount of photographers that specialize in cosplay has jumped a lot too.

In general, it seems cosplay has evolved from a simple hobby where you could throw something together to wear to a weekend convention, to a full time gig where people spend months on at a time for each one of their creations.

How has ShareMyCosplay changed over the years?

In my eyes SMC has evolved greatly over the years. As the editor there have been two major changes, and I think it has improved the way we do things. The first thing would be, when we first started I used to go “collect” the cosplay that we shared. So I had to either go find it, or reach out to people. I spent a lot of time tracking down cosplay to share, that I personally thought was cool or very creative. As you can imagine this took a lot of time. So this has changed dramatically over the past 3 -  5 years. Now I’m happy to say that we are 99.9% based on submissions from users. So while there is less than 1% of content that we do go out and ask for, it is basically all based on what people send us to share. So that is why you see such a great variety of cosplay content on our pages. There is a downside to this in a way, as compared to some other pages out there that only feature certain types of cosplayers, some people enjoy that a bit more and those pages can have more of a following then we do. However we are really happy with the content we put out. 

Then the second big change, that has certainly led to better content for our pages, is the introduction of automation. When SMC first started, I had to do everything manually. Like I would be on Twitter or my phone doing everything live, and sharing items. It took up a lot of my time, and greatly affected my personal life. At times I think I must have been crazy, as this is a free service that we provide, and I was putting hours into each day. Now of course things have changed and the Social Media aspect of SMC is way easier to manage. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all have official tools available that allow you to schedule your posts. So you can easily take an hour or 2 and work on several days of a week at the same time, or if you were really organized, schedule the whole week. So I’ve learned to embrace this a bit more and learn the ins and outs of it. This leads to a more constant stream of content that our followers seem to enjoy. Which seems to lead to more engagement from our followers.

What’s the best part / worst part of running a cosplay theme page? 

The best part has obviously been meeting & interacting with the community throughout the years. We do our best to present a positive place where everyone can share their cosplay creations. We’ve been invited to some really cool events over the years, and our team has been able to go to a lot of conventions all over the world. It’s been a fun ride.

The worst part for me personally, is that while our team has grown and shrank over the years, I do most of the work by myself. Sharemycosplay.com is run by a single person, me. Also for the most part there is a single person doing all of the social media. So I do my best to have content up all of the time, but sometimes life gets in the way. We’ve put a few calls out for people that might want to help with content creation for the site, but sometimes it’s hard to attract people interested in helping. Right now I’d love a few writers that could write articles that I could wrap around cosplay posts for the page. We will have to see how that turns out.

What future plans do you have for ShareMyCosplay?

I’m always looking to expand Sharemycosplay.com with new content. During the pandemic I’ve been off my normal schedule so unfortunately updates have been a bit slow, but hoping to get back to things. With conventions off the table for now for the most part, I’m trying to move in different directions. I’ve recently tried to put more effort into YouTube, but even that has been impacted by the Pandemic, so I’ve leaned more on gaming content. That is going to change as I’ve started a new initiative that I just launched on our page a few days ago called “CosplaySELF''. Basically we are looking to have cosplayers interview themselves, and us edit the footage into the “episodes' ' featuring 3 cosplayers. Hopefully those will start to be live very soon. We are already into the editing phase and hope to have the first episode live soon, over on our YouTube page. Keep your eyes peeled. Hopefully, as long as people show interest, this is something we will continue to create and upload on a regular schedule.

Is there anything that wasn’t covered you like to talk about?

 Lastly I want to thank you for taking the time to include Share My Cosplay in this interview. It really means a lot when someone else in the community that you respect, takes a moment out of their busy life to recognize the work you’ve done. There have been times in the past where I have considered possibly giving up doing SMC, but getting some recognition really helps put things in perspective and allows me to continue on. Hopefully Share My Cosplay will continue to grow over the coming years, and continue as a great tool for all cosplayers to use.

https://www.sharemycosplay.com/

[saiyanhajime]

My First Artist Alley at a Comic Con… What I’ve Learnt

I’ve thought about selling my wears in artist alley for something like ten years now… And aside from feeling like my stuff isn’t good enough to compete until relatively recently, the main reason I hadn’t given it a whirl until now was the cost. I couldn’t understand how it would be financially viable, and if you’re here to find the quick answer to that same burning question, the answer is it’s not - at least for me. But if I’m being honest and perhaps a little harsh, I can’t really see how it could be what I would consider truly “worthwhile” for all but the most successful artists in the alley when you factor in all expenses.

But would I do it again? Hell yes. Did I have fun? Absolutely! Was there value in networking, making friends and social media gains? Yes, yes and yes!

I went to London Comic Con Spring run by Showmasters. I choose this con because of a few reasons, namely that it was the next local con with tables left when I started seriously obsessing over wanting to do this.

The stall was very reasonable at £80 (but I paid an extra £30 for an additional person to help out.)

This convention is a lot more Film and TV focused than was ideal for what I thought my audience would be - with their main highlight being their guest signings. I knew this going in and my assumptions were right, I think. That said, the “small press” section of the event was wildly varied, but it did feel like actual comic creators were doing the best of us all.

The Expenses

The costs add up, fast. A £ here and there and you’ve racked up £500 or so worth of expenses before you’ve even factored in potential travel, food and hotels… Let alone time. I know you’re probably thinking you wouldn’t spend that much, but believe me - if you record EVERY cost related to getting your stall together, you’ll be shocked how fast it accumulates. You’ll find yourself looking at all the £3-5 you spent on bits n bobs wondering how the final sum is so high.

I know what you’re thinking… You can do it cheaper. I just didn’t try hard enough to get these costs down. But believe me, I did.

I spent way more time than was worthwhile researching costs - these prices include VAT & they include shipping -  I wanted the most accurate picture of the hard cash I would actually have to spend up front… And the oddly expensive ones like the postcards cost so much because I effectively paid a premium to have multiple designs. My logic was to try lots of different things, learn as much as possible, but have few in quantity of each design. That way, the flops hurt less. You pay more per item for that privilege, but what’s the use in having 100 of something that won’t sell? I’d rather learn from x10 of something even if I’m making half the profit “per item”. 

That’s a mistake a think so many businesses make - don’t think of profit per item, think of it in profit on entire expenses. I made a huge loss, just like I expected. :) My 100 postcards for example costing £50 makes them 50p each, and selling at £1.50 means £1 profit per postcard. That’s £100 profit! Except I only sold 10 - that means a £35 loss for the time being. It’s not a profit until you recoup the whole cost. And I thought of the whole cost as that £550 sum from the get go. Only once I cover all accumulated costs am I making a profit.

But most of these costs are reusable… I could go to another con tomorrow and only pay an additional £150 or so for the table, travel, etc. and have enough stock and a decent display. And that’s my intention - don’t give up, do a few, then evaluate. THEN give up. :)

So realistically, you need to be willing to waste £800+ to find out if this game is for you. That’s a big chunk of money not to be sniffed at and you should be aware of that before you jump in.

The Products

What should I take? Who should I order it from?? How much stock do I need???

These are unanswerable questions because they are highly personal. I see soooo many “where should I get prints from??” with people expecting an easy answer. There isn’t one. But I can try and explain why there isn’t one. I think a lot of newbies assume creators don’t want to share their suppliers because they’re being protective or don’t want the competition - nonono, it’s that the answer is different for everyone. An established, popular and successful artist in the alley is likely ordering huge bulk orders from a supplier that has a minimum order of hundreds or thousands. What good is that information to us newbies? It’s useless.

Prints 

In the end, I took 7 print designs…. All fanart, with 4 of the designs being Dragon Ball, 2 of the designs Sonic the Hedgehog and one of GLaDOS from Portal 2. Two of the designs were on A3 and the rest on A4.

I ordered A4 and A3 prints from different suppliers, as they were cheaper this way, EVEN with the postage factored in - which is absolutely ridiculous I know, but you begin to see why “x company is best for prints!” is a useless piece of advice. But sit tight, cuz it gets way worse.

I ordered as few as possible, but a couple of websites had the same price for 5 as the other did for 10, etc. so I went with the one that offered more for the same, obviously. I had x6 (including the display print) of each A4 print and x10 of each A3 - not because I thought they would sell twice as much, just because that’s the least I could get for the cheapest price! And to make matters even more complex - I made those orders based on coupons I had found and you often can’t see the total inc postage until you’ve got everything in your basket and entered your address and email. I looked at maybe 20 suppliers. Imagine how long that took, just for prints. And if I did the same thing tomorrow, it wouldn’t be the same suppliers who were cheaper - coupons and offers change the game, quantity required changes the game. Getting 30 A4 prints might be cheaper on one site, but it might be better to get them from another if you’re after 40, and it definitely will be if you’re wanting them to be all the same - then you can probably get 100 for less than I paid. Nightmare. And you find yourself going “but I can get 100 of the same print for £17 - maybe it’s worth the investment…” Maybe? Who knows! Probably not though.

I don’t think I’d bother with ordering A3 again anytime soon - the main reason is that A3 cellophane bags and carrier bags big enough for such a large print are quite a considerable added expense… And a lot of potential buyers commented how they loved a print but just don’t have the wall space. I also couldn’t find a supplier that would offer to print less than 10 A3 prints in one design. One buyer commented that they would get one of my other prints if it was larger - but would they? I know from experience selling online that people often say “oh man I’d so get a ____ if you did one!” and you do and you even link it to them and then silence. Don’t take what potential customers say too seriously, unless you’ve got a decent number of them telling you the same thing. But for me, 3 people telling me that on top of my other reasons for disliking A3 is enough to go, ok… Forget A3.

Perhaps my best piece of advice is to sign up to every supplier's newsletter. I get emailed deals almost daily now and if you’ve got the time to play with, it’s worth getting your stuff ready for print and just sitting and waiting for that coupon to drop. 15-20% off can make a huge difference to your margins. I purposefully waited until January to place my orders, expecting a post Christmas assortment of deals, and I was right. Bare in mind that many suppliers can take a while to get stuff to you and it might not be right - so don’t cut it too late to order things. I ordered everything just under two months ahead of the con and had plenty of time to then play with and practise setting up how I was going to display things.

So, how did the prints do? I sold out of the Sonic and Shadow print - including the display, which I sold at a marked down rate. I sold 2 of each A3 print - Great Ape Vegeta vs Goku and GLaDOS… 1 of Majin Vegeta, 2 of Fleetway Super Sonic. None of Gogeta or Shenron.

So, Dragon Ball wasn’t so hot, Sonic absolutely was. Is that a long term trend, or just this con? Hell if I know.

I didn’t have a portfolio book with my prints in on the table - I thought that was a waste of space if I can fit them all up on my display - but with hindsight, you get two types of people... Those who aren’t interested in artist alley stalls and pass through at a distance and a print up high MIGHT catch their eye and bring them over. But the vast majority of people you’ll sell to have their eyes down at the tables as they pass. This was the most important thing I learnt - I’d read so much about how important it is to use “vertical” space and tried to get as much off the table as possible, but by day 2 I was spreading more out on the table until every inch of it was covered. I often had to tell people about my prints and they would look up having not noticed them! I had read that people recommend having a portfolio book for people to thumb through - but I hadn’t really understood the benefit of that. Having people touch and interact with stuff on the table is such a valuable interaction that sparks natural conversations. It’s really important to have physical stuff ON the table, perhaps more so than getting a fancy vertical setup. If you’re strapped for cash - ditch the idea of grid cubes or similar completely. Just lay stuff out.

Postcards

When my postcards arrived I immediately realised I’d made a stupid mistake. I was obsessed with getting the display vertical and having lots of different designs. Having so many different postcards to display was a nightmare that I think impacted the whole setup. The wall they created took light away from one side of the display, they were really quite oppressive! - and I knew this before I even went to the show, but I didn’t know how else to display them. I don’t think I would order postcards again, they barely sold… But the 90 I have leftover will be displayed in a photo album on the table next time for sure. Seems so obvious now! They were a HUGE waste of money - they’re expensive for what they are to get made and the retail price of them is abysmal. But, there were a couple of times when people who didn’t have the money for a big print maybe wouldn’t have bought anything, but I had something cheap and cheerful to offer, which was nice. The other cool thing about them is you can have your website on the back and it doesn’t seem out of place or weird.

The main problem with finding a postcard provider was I couldn’t find anywhere that would do small print runs to allow me to order several designs, so I ended up going with the one company I knew who’d do that - Moo. But man are they expensive - I could have got 500 postcards of one design for less than half what I paid for 100 of 25 diff designs - but again, having the variety mattered to me.

Postcards are a pain and not worth it, which explains why I so rarely see them for sale. Lesson learned!

If you have a decent inkjet printer, postcards are super easy to make and I used to do this before I lost patience with inkjet home printers and switched to laser. Just get thick photo paper, already the correct size!

Stickers

I had a mix of kiss-cut and die-cut stickers that by day two I was spreading out on the table and absolutely getting more sales as a direct result… They still didn’t do exceptionally well, but I don’t regret having them. They’re a solid low-retail-price staple of the artist alley table. Pieces of art with a purpose, especially in the age of reusable water bottles. A couple of fellow artists noted that my stickers were very cheap priced at £1.50 and I kind of agree. I think next time they will be £2 and this won’t negatively affect sales. There’s a common fallacy that making something cheaper will increase sales - the likelihood is that it won’t, and when you think how many more sales you have to make to gain the same profit, you realise this is the case. Just that small difference of 50p would mean you have to sell 25% less stickers to make the same amount of money. Isn’t that insane? When you think of it this way, pricing your items right really matters.

I also had sticker sheets - the Baa (from Dragon Ball) ones I only sold one of, to a child who I’m not sure even knew what they were from, but the Sonic sheet did pretty well! I didn’t see many other artists rocking Sonic stuff - or even much Sonic stuff on the wider show floor - which is surprising given the recent film release. I guess I just tapped into a niche, but it’s hard to tell.

Several suppliers of stickers offer multiple designs as standard, or a small surcharge for having multiple designs. Shop around. Stickers are overpriced from many suppliers. The popular choice of Stickermule often run deals where you can get 50 for £19, but even this deal price is quite expensive for x50 of the same sticker. They are by far the best quality stickers, to be fair to them… But you don’t need x50 of one sticker for the purpose of artist alley. I’ve jumped on Stickermule promos in the past where they charge £1 for 10 stickers. That’s a great opportunity to try out design you’re really not sure about. I can’t stress enough how important newsletter signup to suppliers is!

Honestly, Zap Creatives are the only company I’ve used that I would recommend without a second thought. Their customer service is exceptional, their postal packaging is not only environmentally friendly but also adequate (I had a lot of issues with other suppliers packaging and items arriving to me damaged! Another reason you need to order far in advance.) and their prices are transparent and extremely good value. They have free postage (globally, I believe!), which makes it so easy to see how much you’ll be spending at a glance. They have detailed “how to” pages for setting up your files. They’re a dream come true. Sign up to their newsletter, follow them on socials, give them your money - they deserve it. Not sponsored, just genuinely impressed.

Comic

Back at Uni a friend and I made a little comic, and I got some more copies made and took it along because, why not… It is COMIC con after all, and this convention actually calls the artist alley “small press”. It sold pretty well for an independent original to a wide variety of people, young and old. It made me really happy to see an original work sell! You’d be surprised how cheap getting a book printed can be - but be willing for the pages to be slightly misaligned and the paper quality eh. But if you just want a cheap comic printed or a zine, it is very doable in small runs even as low as 10. Remember that stuff doesn’t need to be perfect. Don’t stress over imperfections. I wouldn’t recommend the supplier I used because their delivery was an abysmal royal shit-show, but their customer service made up for it and then their re-delivery was only a slightly less abysmal royal shit-show on the second attempt. So, I won’t mention them.

On that note - if a supplier isn’t good enough, get in touch with their customer services and be nice but tell them it’s not good enough. Give them a chance to fix things.

Traditional Art Originals

I took a lot of traditional media original artworks with me, mostly because I had them already. I sold one low value original.

This was a little heartbreaking because the sale of just one high value original would have pushed the worthwhileness a long way - but it is a lot of money to expect people to spend and is a luck of the draw situation, for sure.

However, the larger ones definitely attracted attention to my stall and created conversation - so I’d say if you have larger originals or small low value quick drawings, they’re worth bringing, but I wouldn’t make any for the intent of selling in the future.

I don’t think a single person thumbed through my plate rack of originals. It was a poor display idea. Don’t recommend it at all. But I can’t think of a better idea other than individual easel displays which take up valuable table space better used for spreading out other items flat.

How could I have done better?

I think having more variety of franchises in my prints was the only HUGE mistake that I kinda knew before I arrived might be an issue. The reason I didn’t was I was worried about space and this could have been avoided had I just listened to the advice I read and had a portfolio out - I even have an A4 portfolio book! Stupid. I’m stupid.

Would I have done enough better to make a profit? No way haha.

How did other people seem to be doing?

It didn’t seem like anyone was doing particularly well… But without knowing peoples numbers, it’s hard to say. And I doubt many people keep the obsessive books I do.

I am pretty sure a lot of convention artists don’t realise the amount they are spending vs the amount they aren’t making… But I could be wrong. There’s a lot of talk of “making table” which I did make back, but I came nowhere close to making back all associated costs. I think for it to be legitimately financially “worthwhile”, you’d have to take about £2k over a weekend - to account for the time and all expenses and paying yourself a decent wage. And if your prints are £10 each, that’s more than 10 prints sold an hour. No one was anywhere near this busy. No way.

A few artists told me this isn’t the most amazing show in the first place and they’ve done worse than they did at this same show last year, even if it seemed physically busier at times this year. A lot of this game is luck of the draw - who’s turning up, how much do they have to spend, what's the weather doing, etc. etc…

Do I need a card reader?

My sales were about 50/50 cash and card… But I ran out of exact change at one point, so being able to take card payments saved the sale. I have a Sum Up reader as it was the cheapest to buy up front and I had no issues with it the whole weekend. At £20 it was a bargain. I think I would rather have that than the cube display grid, for example.

Do you have any cost shaving tips?

Oh hell yeah!

First up - like I said before - sign up to every single potential supplier newsletter. Some of them send out coupons almost weekly.

I bought very little in the way of display equipment and salvaged the rest...

I borrowed some plate stands from my nan, I took empty cardboard displays from ASDA and Sainsbury's (I’d try Walmart or Target in the USA). These were great because they fold down flat for transporting, are light and FREE! Keep your eyes peeled when you’re out shopping for ones which might be the right size for your products. Often times you can transfer the one or two items left in them to another box in the store, or they’re simply empty. I found ASDA best for having completely unbranded boxes. I also made some stands for my small originals from thick card rather than by expensive display racks that are heavy to transport and cost a bomb.

Pick local shows if you can and research thoroughly your transport options and the cost. Parking, trains, hotel costs and eating out can be extortionate additions to your overall expense that are easily forgotten.

Make sure you can carry your setup and don’t need to spend additional money on an Uber or something to help you move shit around!

Use what you have. Don’t buy storage boxes and suitcases and trolleys if you don’t have to. Sure, they might make your life slightly easier, but maybe wait and see how your first few cons go.

Any other tips or things you wish you’d known?

One thing that was kinda stressing me out was leaving stock overnight, but I realised there’s a whole show floor of high value figurines down there...

Leaving the stall unattended isn’t a big deal, either. Obviously take your money with you, but your neighbors can let potential customers know you’ve popped to the loo and I saw several “Back Soon!” signs throughout the day. I took a friend mostly as company, but I would confidently do a con alone having seen how much of a non-issue this is. Having a friend is great for chatting and having a chance to have a look around the show and chat to other artists, though!

I’m not sure carrier bags are necessary. They’re a pretty substantial extra expense you can skip.

Check all your stock as soon as it arrives in the mail. I had an order of cello bags for A4 prints where about 50% of the pack were unusable as the bottom seal with just... open.

Oh! And the “Sundays are always quieter” rhetoric? My Sunday was twice as good as Saturday, despite being quieter on the show floor.

Overall...

I really enjoyed myself. I loved everything. Chatting to customers, chatting to artists, seeing what people were selling, people watching, eating junk, setting up, tearing down and having a friend to chat with and chill the whole time. I gained a pretty significant Twitter follower boost over the weekend and gave away approximately 150-200 business cards as well as meeting some awesome new friends.

I’m not sure if I will be back for the same show next year - we’ll see. I’d like to try a bunch of different shows with different audiences. Many overlap in terms of being around the same time of year. And all the while I’m carrying limited stock to see what works and what doesn’t, I’m reluctant to book two close together.

I’m lucky enough to live in London - so I have access to several big conventions throughout the year on my doorstep.

I have a table at Hyper Japan in July. A very different con to this one with a table almost half as big. So I suspect most of what I’ve learnt won’t even apply! But that’s kind of exciting. My logical brain tells me not to make more stuff, but I think I’ve got the con bug now and just wanna make more profits!

I hope this has been slightly useful to anyone toying with the idea of doing a convention. I recommend checking out @howtobeaconartist​ here on Tumblr as well as Ben Krefta’s incredibly detailed experiences of being a UK convention artist.

Another thing I found helpful was to watch youtube video walk-arounds from previous years at the same show - see what people are selling, their set-ups, get a feel for space, see if you see the same people returning year after year. Here’s a video from the show I’ve just done! Artist alley starts at around 7:50.

[tjswritingstuff]

My writing plan

The idea of a writing plan first came to me through Helium in about 2009. There was an article request for “Why writer’s need a writing plan.” Originally my writing plan was a weekly plan that was specifically listing the articles I planned on writing for their website, the articles I planned on editing, and a few small personal goals.

When Helium went defunct, I stopped using a writing plan for several years. I picked it back up when I started trying to focus on publishing my books. For the past couple years my writing plan has been one my greatest tool to keep me on track.

If you’ve never heard of one before, think of a writing plan as essentially a business plan for writers. In fact, my current writing plan template is based off a business plan template I used in college.

I create a yearly writing plan spanning from January – December. Each year I find things that I add to my plan because they work or remove from my plan because I don’t use them.

Each section of the plan serves a purpose. 

Title Page

To Do List

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Tax information

Goals

Project List

Events

Frequently used links

Financial Documents

Market Analysis

Competitors

Social Media Audits

Social Media Content Calendar.

Contacts/Contact notes

Notes

References

The title page differentiates which year the writing plan is from as well as the mission statement, idea, or quote I’ve chosen for the year.

My to do list is the second thing in my document because it’s what I access the most frequently. My to do list is broken down into 4 sections: Urgent/Important, Urgent/Unimportant, Not Urgent/Important, Not Urgent/Not Important.  

The table of contents serves as a quick jump to the other sections of my document. Ctrl+ clicking on one of the headings puts me directly to the section I need to access without having to scroll or search.

 The Executive Summary is a few paragraphs that explain the purpose of my writing plan. It says who I am, what my long-term goals are, what my goals for the year are, and what kind of information can be found in the document.

The Tax information section is where I have links to various tax related documents and websites. Anything I might need to cross reference when I go to file my taxes, I try to link so I’ll have an easier time getting my documentation together.

The goals section is actually two charts, a sales goals which is broken down by month, what my goal for the month is, and what my actual sales were. I keep a running total in the chart so I can easily look and see if I’m on track or not.

I also have a section for non-sales related goals. This is for things like number of social media posts I want to make, number of events I want to attend, what books I’d like to work on, basically anything that I can think of that I want to achieve goes into this section. It’s broken down the same way my to do list is, urgency and importance.

My project list is another chart. It’s broken down by title, project type, deadline, status, and notes. Each project that will take more than a month to complete gets added to this chart. I have a separate project list for smaller, more frequently changing projects. A novel will go on the project list in my writing plan, a blog post would go on my project list in my time log.

The events section is where I keep track of events, I plan on attending during the year. In past years (Pre-Covid) I took copies of my books to local craft shows, small conventions, seasonal events, and donated them to auctions and school prize drawings, as well as doing local book release parties. My events section is where I keep a list of where I plan on attending, what it will cost, where it’s located, and anything that I need to bring. If I find out about an event that I may consider in the future I add it to the list of events to research.

My frequently used links section is where I keep links to various resources, both files on my computer, and webpages that have information I need to keep up to date on.

The financial documents section typically links to two different types of documents. Income statements and balance sheets. I do monthly of both, and then I also do a quarterly Income statement as well as a large one totaling all my income and expenses for the year at the end. In the upcoming year I’m considering changing this from linking to individual documents to having each document be its own worksheet in an excel workbook. With a single link back to the document to save space and memory.

The Market analysis and Competitors sections of my plan are lacking in detailed information. Most of what I have there is definitions and notes. There are a few writers that are on my “competitors” list because we tend to be at the same kinds of events, but I’m not on their level and we only engage the same audience at one or two events per year.

Social Media audits were a tool that I found, tried out a couple times and then dropped because the effort didn’t give me very much usable information. Or to be exact, it gave me information that I don’t know how to use. I keep the template linked in case I figure out how to apply the knowledge I gain from it in a meaningful way.

I also keep Social media content “calendar” – this section is really just wishful thinking. When I come up with ideas for posts they get added to the list, but I am terrible at following a set posting schedule. It does serve well for when I run out of ideas on what to write. I always have a list ready and waiting for me to pick up.

My contact list includes the person’s name, title, the date of contact, the method of contact, notes, and follow up date.

The notes section includes everything from things people have told me about my books, to notes taken from articles, books, or posts anything that might come in handy later I create a note and a reference for it.

[cutie1365]

A Kid from Queens Part 11

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Info: CA: Civil War Era. Tony Stark enlists his daughter to find the web slinging spider in Queens.

Word count: 2.8k

Warnings: language, lmk if I should add anything

A/N: I’ve removed a lot of people from my taglists for being inactive, to be on it and stay on it you must like my posts, and comment or reblog. There’s a google form in my bio to request to be added.

Masterlist linked in my bio. Taglist in the reblog.

                  - - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

A bright stage light blinded you as you shifted back behind the curtain. A production assistant was clipping a microphone onto your dress that was so tight they’d actually made you wear spanx. Fucking spanx. You were a healthy 18 year old girl, wearing Spanx. You felt like you couldn’t breathe.

Your gaze shifted to the other side of the stage where you saw your publicist-turned-manager, Linda, give you a thumbs up and a cheery smile. You flashed her a toothy smile right back to reassure her. She had been preparing you for this all week, and you were ready. You were used to meetings with important people, investors, and shareholders; Pepper taught you well, you knew what you were doing.

“Ok people! Live in five... four...” A jaunty producer bellowed from behind the cameras.

You took a deep breath in, closing your eyes and reminding yourself why you were here. When you opened them, you put on your mask: a bright smile, wide eyes, and shoulders back. You were no longer the girl who just last week was crying in a conference room over a boy. No, for the next hour you were Y/N Stark: a girl who definitely had her shit together, sporting a nearly $5,000 Oscar de la Renta dress with some Jimmy Choos to match.

The audience roared as the large red “Applause” sign above the stage lit up.

“Thank you! Thank you for joining us and welcome to all of you at home tuning into our live broadcast of The Tonight Show!” The spirited host greeted the audience, he spoke again once their cheers died down.

“Tonight we have a very special guest. She’s a partner of Stark Industries. She’s the daughter of Iron Man! Give it up for Y/N Stark!” His voice grew more and more excited with each description.

Was that really all you boiled down to? ‘The daughter of Iron Man’? Would you ever be able to be your own person? All your accomplishments, and still, the most interesting thing about you was your paternity.

                  - - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

Unbeknownst to you, thirty minutes away in Queens, May Parker was flipping channels as her nephew ate dinner. Landing on channel 6, she recognized a familiar face.

“Peter, isn’t that your little friend?” She asked excitedly, pointing to the TV. He lazily draws his attention to the screen before he did a double take. Oh God, she looked amazing. He thought.

“We’re not really friends May, she’s just my boss’ daughter.” Peter spoke, hoping she’d change the subject, or the channel.

“Wow, look at that dress! She looks like a million bucks!” May smiled, in awe.

“Try a billion.” Peter muttered, thankful that May didn’t have super-hearing like him. Normally at this time, he’d be getting ready to go out for patrols, but he was curious. Why were you on live TV? You didn’t do interviews. So tonight, he decided to take his place next to May and watch, because honestly - he missed you. If this was his chance so see your smile and hear your laugh, then patrols could wait an hour.

                  - - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Thank you for having me.” You nodded politely as you adjusted in your chair.

“Well it’s not everyday I have superhero DNA seated across from me.” The host joked, and you laughed politely, mentally regretting this already.

“What can I say? It’s in my blood.” You shrugged, the audience roared as the neon sign flashed. Your interviewer joining in, though you could tell it was fake.

“Yikes that was bad wasn’t it, guess I’ll leave the jokes to you.” You declared with a smile.

“I guess out of all those PhDs you have, none of them translate to being able to come up with a decent punchline.” He retorted, playfully.

“Oh certainly not, probably the opposite considering they’re in Electrical Engineering and Ethical Philosophy.” You laughed.

“Which is incredible by the way! You’re 18 and you have two PhDs. How’d you do it?” What an original question. You thought and mentally rolled your eyes.

“A lot of hard work and dedication. And, sure, I’m not oblivious to the tremendous amount of privilege that I have. Sometimes it’s about the right opportunities, and those aren’t always fair. I’m hoping one day to change that.” You spoke honestly, gaining a round of applause from the audience.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” He asked, baiting you. He knew why you were here and what he was supposed to steer the conversation towards.

“Well, systematic change doesn’t happen overnight. But as a start, we want to be able to give young people interested in science, technology and engineering a foot in the door. We’re opening up a Stark Internship program, for kids across the country to come work with us and learn from us. Anyone is welcome to apply. There are more details on our website.” You looked directly into Camera One. You felt as if you were reading from a script, you’ve practiced this so much.

                  - - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Peter, isn’t that what you do?” May asked, turning to her nephew.

“Kinda, Mr. Stark said they were expanding nationwide, wanna help out more people ya know.” He lied, in reality he had no clue what you were doing. A heads up would have been nice, but it was helpful that his alibi was now legitimized.

“I like her.” May said with a soft smile, focusing back on the screen.

“What?” Peter asked, taken aback.

“I like her,” May repeated, “She recognizes her privilege and she’s giving back. Plus her shoes are to die for.”

                    - - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“That’s amazing. Does that include scholarship opportunities?” Your host inquired, just as planned.

“Of course! We already offer a few scholarships, there’s even one named after Dad and I at MIT, but we will be expanding greatly. One hundred of the applicants will receive a $50,000 scholarship, so there’s certainly no reason not to apply.” You laughed.

“You’re going to be a busy girl, doing all those interviews.” He remarked. You hated the way he called you girl. You faked a laugh before responding.

“Oh, I know, but I think it’s important for me to really have an intimate role in the selection, you want to build those personal connections. Ya know?” You nodded.

“Those are important, sure. Now, Y/N, it’s no secret that you’ve also been running Stark Industries’ Philanthropy, so what’s next on the agenda for you personally?” He asked, turning the conversation... this wasn’t planned.

“Um, sure we have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies here at Stark Industries, so we’re constantly making pretty large donations to a number of deserving causes. If you’re referring to large scale philanthropic galas then the NYC Hope Gala is coming up, which targets childhood cancer research and awareness. And of course, The Met Gala is coming up next month.” You nodded. What was he playing at here?

“And can we expect you to attend?” Something about his demeanor was changing, and you cursed yourself for agreeing to do this on live TV.

“Haven’t missed it in four years so there’s a good chance.” You assured him with a smile.

“Are you nervous to attend a public event considering what that took place at the last one?” You felt like you had just been punched in the gut, and you hoped that didn’t translate onto your face. He really was going there, and you had a feeling you knew where this was heading.

“I believe that when you live in fear, the people that orchestrated these terrible things win. So I’m not going to let that happen.” Your mind was reeling trying to figure out his next move, and what your response would be. Should you keep talking to fill the time until commercial break, in an attempt to limit whatever might be coming next? You looked at the monitor, 5 minutes until commercial, shit. A lot can happen in 5 minutes.

“When footage of the attack came out, I think it’s fair to say that the world was shocked.” There were random voices of agreement coming from the audience.

“About?” You asked, surely he wasn’t bringing this up. Your heart began to beat faster.

“I don’t think anyone expected you to stand up and fight the way you did, what prompted you to do that.” Ok this is your chance, stall. You thought.

“I- I suppose it was a spur of the moment, fight or flight sort of thing. In times of panic everyone reacts differently. I have basic self defense and martial arts training and some Stark tech, that’s about it. No crazy powers or anything. Someone once told me that if you have the ability to stop the bad things from happening, and you don’t, then they happen because of you. I knew that I could do something, so I did.” You spoke slowly, hoping to come off as sincere and thoughtful, though you were really just killing time.

“And paid the price.”

“I didn’t say it was easy. But some broken ribs are a small price to pay for saving some lives.” You tried to convince him.

“And how has it affected your relationship with the Mayor’s son, the reason you were at the gala that night?” Shit.

“I think it’s normal that trauma and stress can put a strain on a relationship, but if you’re both willing to communicate and work through it then there’s no reason it should have a negative affect.” You were immediately reminded of your interaction with Thomas last week.

                  - - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Let's be honest, you were using me the entire time.” You said calmly, shouldn’t you be angry?

“Well not the entire time.” He answered with a smirk, dropping it when he noticed you were not amused.

“Thomas.” You spoke seriously, with a brow raised.

“Ok fine, like 95% of the time,” He admitted, dropping his playful tone once more, “Why are you here Y/N?”

“Because it's my turn to use you.” You stated simply, mimicking his smirk.

“What?” His eyes grew wide.

“The public needs to keep thinking were the perfect happy couple.” You explained.

“Why?” He asked, shaking his head.

“I have my reasons and you have yours.” You answered cryptically.

You weren’t surprised when he agreed, his father’s poll numbers had been dropping significantly. He wanted to get back in his father’s good graces. You were going to use this opportunity to look into the family, and the possible weapons dealings Danny Rand had warned you about. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, they say.

Plus, it gave you a good alibi to move the attention off of Peter, well, Spider-Man.

                  - - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“So you’re still together, despite the rumors that you’ve split?” Your interviewer pried.

“We are still together, and doing quite well, though I appreciate your concern.” Your reply was confident, and just cocky enough to get a laugh from the audience.

“How did he react to the rumors about a midnight tryst between you and Spider-Man?” He was enjoying this, and to top it all off, blasted that damn photograph on the screen, just in case the world had forgotten.

                  - - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

Peter choked on his water, causing May to worryingly ask him if he’s alright. He attempts to reassure her, and silence her to hear your response.

You laughed before answering.

“Well I’d hardly consider it a midnight tryst, considering this picture was taken at 7:30. Plus Thomas was over at the time so it would be pretty hard for him to believe there was any ‘trysting’ going on.” You lied. Peter listened more intently as the interview was slowly devolving into an interrogation.

“So are you denying that you know Spider-Man?” The interviewer pressed, his tone near threatening.

“I’ve met the guy once,” Peter saw you shrug, “He saved my life, I thanked him. I’d hardly consider that knowing someone.”

It was in that moment Peter realized why you were doing all of this. You were trying to protect him, to shift the story. You wanted to get the attention off of him, and by doing that, shifted it all onto you. You were taking the fall, and once this blows over you can’t turn back. You were going to have to keep this up, this media persona. That meant more TV appearances, more interviews, more parties and galas. Becoming the exact person you didn’t want to be. Putting aside your work and research, for him.

                - - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“When we come back Y/N Stark is going to answer your questions you sent in on Twitter!” He pointed his note cards to the camera with a smile.

The curtain closed as you cut to commercial break. Your smile dropped and your mask melted away.

Your publicist Linda ran on stage yelling at the host.

“What the hell was that? We told you the attack was off limits!” She scolded him, you almost thought she’d threaten to sue. You’d never seen her this worked up before.

“It’s what people care about, it’s what they want to know! No one cares about how much money you donate to some kids.” He argued, you shook your head at how heartless he was.

You stormed over to the side of the stage, you could hear Linda’s heels behind you.

“Y/N-“ She spoke once she caught up to you, you whipped around to face her.

“This is why I didn’t want to do this bullshit! I’m out here getting interrogated! What’s he gonna ask about next, huh? The incident? The fucking Accords? Jesus!” You ranted, flailing your arms about.

”Back in 10.” A stagehand informed the two of you.

“Listen, I didn’t know he was going to do that ok. But now, you’re going to get your butt back in the chair and answer their silly questions from Twitter and you’re done, ok?” She pushed you back onto the stage, you quickly took your seat as the curtain separating you and the audience was pulled open and you were back live.

              - - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

After a painful 15 minutes of mind numbing questions like “Who’s your favorite Avenger?” and “F Marry Kill- Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man” (which you had declined to answer, that was your dad for Christ sake), you were finally making your way back to the car. Linda was giving you instructions in preparations for your day tomorrow.

“Ok, we’ve got the Vogue interview tomorrow morning, then Elle in the afternoon so I’ll send hair and makeup over around 5:45AM, you’ll have to be up and ready. Oh, but don’t eat anything you’ll want to look nice in your dress tomorrow.” You gave Linda a side eye and eye roll when her last words came out of her mouth. You were certainly not starving yourself. If you wanted to eat, you were going to eat, and God have mercy on anyone who got in your way.

Once you returned to the quiet emptiness of your apartment, you immediately slipped out of your dress and into yoga pants and a sports bra.

You began wrapping your knuckles, and attacking the punching bag - a little coping mechanism Cap had taught you. You were furious about how the interview went.

You had doubts that people would ever stop asking about Peter, and if any of this was worth it.

Little did you know, the friendly neighborhood Spiderling was sitting on your roof, after peering in through the window and seeing your assault on the bag.

He was curious about how you were doing. You had looked so happy and put together- but was that just a brave face and a dress? He realized now it was just a mask.

When he glanced once more, he found you in the kitchen, unwrapping your bleeding knuckles and downing a shot... and then another. You looked miserable, and exhausted.

He wanted to talk to you, but he didn’t want to make things worse. He was about to leave when he noticed you pulled out your phone and open the call app.

Your finger hovered over his name and he raised an eyebrow. You had an internal struggle over whether or not to call him, instead you set the phone down and groaned, sliding it across the counter.

“F.R.I. can you set an alarm for 5AM?” You asked, though you wished you didn’t have to.

“Sure can boss.” F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied.

You slipped a robe over your athletic wear and headed onto your balcony. You leaned on the edge, and looked out onto the moonlit park with a sigh. Dropping your head to your hands once more, and gently rubbing your temples.

Leaning back up onto your elbows, you took in a deep breath.

“I know you’re there Peter.” You spoke softly, turning your head slightly but keeping your body facing out over the ledge.

And your next action surprised both of you: you invited him in.

- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - --

Taglist in the reblog.

Requirements for my taglist- like this post, and comment or reblog to stay on. 

Google form in my bio to request to be on it.

[hiddenbeats247]

Spotlight - Olivia Lunny

It's time for some new music and today our Spotlight - Olivia Lunny. Hailing from Winnipeg Manitoba, Olivia is coming off a win on season 2 of The Launch. We were excited to spend some time talking about her love of music and the new release of Think of Me out now!

You come from a quite creative family, your brother and manager Christian is the CEO and co-founder of several impressive companies. Have you 2 always been competitive with each other? Supportive? What was it like growing up in a household with 2 incredibly passionate and creative types? My brother and I have always been each other's biggest cheerleaders. Growing up and witnessing his success was incredibly motivating and led me to the mindset that anything is possible if you practice patience and hard work. We definitely feed off of each other's energy and passion- that being said, we both have very strong personality types so we have our fair share of debates and challenge each other's ideas often. I definitely feel blessed we get to work as a team. Since he’s come on board as management we’ve really taken things to the next level. I’m really looking forward to what we can accomplish in the years ahead as a team/sibling duo. You are very passionate about Winnipeg, your home town, boosting it up, but with travelling around the country, do you still think you guys have the best poutine? Favorite place in Canada you’ve played so far (other than hometown faves)? Where’s somewhere you want to play here in Canada? Winnipeg will always have my heart! Our poutine however was one-upped when I tried the poutine of ALL poutine’s last summer in Quebec City (at FEQ)!  (Winnipeg remains a close second...) I had the chance to play In PEI at the Cavendish festival last summer and that was a huge highlight. Such a dreamy place. Future wise, I would love to hit the West Coast and play in Vancouver someday soon! Who is your biggest music inspiration and why? I always find this question so difficult to answer. Over the years I’ve been exposed to so much different music. Because of this, my inspiration has come from a collective group of artists. Coldplay will always however be one of my first and present favourite bands. (I admire their authenticity and identity in their sound!) The video for Blacklight, super cool, great song, talk us through the inspiration for that. After being on The Launch were you a bit more comfortable with the creative process in the video. Thank you!! Blacklight was the first music video/shoot I had ever been a part of. Through being on the launch, I really evolved both as a person and artist. I feel that Blacklight was the first project “post launch” where I got to explore another side to my artistry. The video itself represents how people run from their insecurities. In the case of the video, “insecurities” are shown as people lurking in the shadows. This video was so fun to shoot and the director Haille Tut is such a talented up and coming fellow female creative. What is the best advice you've been given so far? Be patient & the only person you’re competing against is yourself. I find it so easy to get distracted and start comparing goals to others etc. irony is, when you can stay disciplined and zoom into your own goals/ life- that’s when you will become the happiest and most successful. Big year for you, winning CTV’s the Launch, must’ve been pretty wild, walk us through what that was like, how it felt to win. 2019 was a very surreal and crazy ride- I went on The Launch with absolutely no expectations. I was the most excited to simply have my music heard by such a large television audience. Winning opened up a whole new chapter for me and I’m forever grateful for my time on the launch because of that. Receiving validation from industry moguls was 100% the reassurance I didn’t know I needed. This really helped me gain some confidence on the writing side of things and at the same time was incredibly humbling. The music industry is a wild place, every artist's journey is so individually unique, and I feel blessed that this opportunity has become a big part of my story and stepping stone so early on in my career. What was the experience like working with Scott Borchetta? Scott is such a kind and passionate human being. I really felt supported and respected working with him. He also has a great ear for music so receiving positive feedback from him was amazing. You received a lot of praise from Jann Arden specifically, what’s it like having a Canadian icon gush over you so blatantly? The “gush” was 110% reciprocal! Jann is so talented and an iconic Canadian. Hearing her speak the way she did about my music was a surreal and special moment. I will always hold that moment in my heart. What was the process like writing with Tyler Shaw for the new single Think Of Me? Tyler is one of the kindest, most genuine people I’ve met. I found the writing process with him very easy and organic. I think our styles of music blend really nicely, so collaborating has been really fun. What is the story you are trying to tell with your music? What’s the story behind Think Of Me? I almost always draw inspiration from personal experiences (whether I’m aware of that or not). The narrative in my songs explore the different perspectives and sides to experiencing love. Think of Me is a post break up anthem with a nostalgic feel. I had gone through a recent break up, Tyler had a concept and melody idea, 3 hours later the song was born! With the new release is there any plans for shows and or tours coming up? Yes- I hope so! The world’s chaotic right now though so I think the most important thing we can do is stay home and enjoy music digitally Finally what would you like to tell your fans? Thank you for listening, thank you for allowing me to create. xoxo Check out Think of Me available now! To keep up to date with Olivia Lunny visit her website! http://www.olivialunny.com/

For your chance to get your own spotlight send us a message here Read the full article

[pentragons]

i'm not sure if you ever dealt with this but how do you deal with things when the graphics or gifs you post get less than 100 notes? I know i shouldn't validate myself through note count but i tend to do that a lot and feel like making graphics is a waste of my time even though it's a process that makes me really happy and i don't really know how to get my stuff to be noticed more and i feel really embarrassed to tag blogs. thank you for reading this i really am thankful for your kindness

Hey anon, I am so sorry you are feeling upset!! I think most content creators on Tumblr/any other platform can sympathize with how you feel - it can be very disheartening to see something you’ve put a lot of work into go unnoticed. I definitely understand how you feel. There is no shame in how you are feeling, so don’t put yourself down! I’ve been on Tumblr for many years and I think it has gotten a lot harder for content creators to share their graphics but also to reach people with them. I personally believe there are many reasons for why that is, but that doesn’t really matter as we can’t change anything about it :/ But I do believe there are some ways to help!

KEEP ON MAKING GRAPHICS. The most important thing - don’t stop because you feel like it is a waste of your time! If it is something that makes you happy and that you enjoy doing, DO NOT GIVE UP! Especially not because of something silly as notes! But I’ll get back to that!

Tagging your posts is the most important thing, I guess. As much as having a lot of followers/mutuals/etc. might help, exposure through tags is what enables others to find your graphics at any time.Keep in mind:- Only the first five tags show up! If you want other people to find your edits you need to make your first five tags as specific as possible. - I always make sure my first five tags are tags that are used by a lot of people. For almost any fandom there are tags like ‘_edit’ or ‘_graphics’ (e.g. ghibliedit) that anyone can use. Make sure you use these, as a lot of people will check them out regularly! You are also not tagging anyone specifically if you are too shy to do that (which is absolutely fine!). So for example, I recently started creating edits for Stranger Things. I tried searching for the tag ‘stedit’, which does indeed exist and from there I looked at how other creators are tagging their posts. Tumblr does also recommend similar tags, so make use of those as well. See which ones you feel comfortable with using and make sure you tag your creations with them! - If you are too shy to tag specific users, maybe consider tagging an update/daily fandom blog that is run by a lot of members. They rely on us content creators helping them keep their daily content coming, so never feel too shy to tag them! Most have specific tags they created just so they can easily see your content! You can find their specific tags in their blog description most of the time. You absolutely do not need to feel shy, plus your edits will also be exposed to a huge audience, as most of these blogs have a lot of followers. I’d definitely recommend giving it a go, there are multiple ones for almost any fandom and as I said, content is what keeps them going! - If you feel too shy to tag others, you can always tag me!! I would be more than happy to see everyone’s beautiful edits and I would never judge anyone. I don’t have a tag yet, but #pentragons or #userpentragons should work perfectly! You are always welcome to message me, tag me, whatever

There are people saying there are specific times when you should be posting as more people will be online, though I don’t know much about that myself. You can read more about it here, for example. I have always (and that’s a lot of years by now!!) posted my stuff on Friday evenings, sometimes Saturday evenings (European time!). Make of that what you will, I personally do it because it’s the most convenient time for me :D

As I said, please don’t stop creating! I’ve had ups and downs myself and there were years where my blog went completely silent. I didn’t create anything new for years because as you said, I was wondering a lot: what’s the point? I have a bit of a different viewpoint now and have honestly never created more things than in the last few months. I am doing it because I feel inspired and because it’s fun. And that’s it. And as much as a lot of notes can make you feel happy, they are not what should keep you going!A) Recently, a wonderful anon messaged me and told me I was “brave” because I was making “things just because you are inspired by that content not for material gain or anything”. And I sat there for a moment and thought - heck yes!!? I’ve never seen it that way but it is a brave thing to expose your art to others. And it is a brave thing to do it out of honest enjoyment and inspiration, not for any gain. Content creators and their bravery to share their works are what keep this website going. I think you are wonderful, brave and an inspiration to many with your edits and it does not matter if there are 100 notes or 1000 because you were brave enough to post it and that is worth more than any notes! YOU are constantly evolving and getting better at what you are doing, YOU are having fun creating something, YOU felt as excited and inspired by something to try to create something - that is beyond amazing!! And I do believe that there are many people out there who are just as excited about what you created as you are - that’s what the tags are for!B) I always try to picture every note as a person that I am meeting to share the fandom love with. Now imagine 50 people standing around you right now. Isn’t that a crazy number?! 100 people - they wouldn’t even fit into my house! I don’t even know that many people in RL so imagine how crazy that is!! We always tend to make ourselves feel small because numbers can be crazy on social media. 10.000 likes here, 5.000 notes there. But when you get back to what these numbers mean, that these are actual people being excited about your edits, then I think every single note is worth so much. I know it’s not really any help but it might make you feel less like you are shouting into a void.

To sum it up: using the tags wisely + creating with a lot of passion is all you can do. There isn’t any magic to it, no secret tricks I know of (if anyone does, please share!!)… but it helps. And if it still doesn’t, then please, don’t feel discouraged - your creations are wonderful and you are so amazing for sharing them, no matter the notes you get. Thank you for trusting me enough to send your message and thank you for being so sweet and honest. I am sorry if this isn’t of much help! I only hope you never ever stop creating!

[peckhampeculiar]

Stage presence

Words by Luke G Williams; Photo Topher McGrillis for the RSC

Rising Shakespearean actor David Ajao admits that if it wasn’t for a Sliding Doors-style moment as a teenager, he probably wouldn’t have ended up as an actor.

“After school at St Thomas Apostle College I had a place at Christ The King [6th form college],” the 30-year-old tells Peckham Peculiar over a cup of tea at the flatoff Rye Lane where he once shared a bedroom with his older brother and where his Nigerian mother still lives.

“My GCSE results were crap and when I went along to register I asked: ‘is there any way I can get in?’ A lady there told me, very politely: ’I’m afraid not.’

“I thought: ‘what am I going to do? My mum’s going to kill me!’ A mate of mine was waiting outside and it just so happened we got the 436 bus back towards Peckham which goes right past Lewisham College.

“My mate said: ’I’m going in to see what’s going on.’ I picked up a leaflet in the theatre that said if you audition for a place this is what you have to learn. So I went back to my mum and said: ‘I’m not in yet but I’m going to learn this and see what happens!’

“I drilled this monologue every single day for a week, had the audition, got in and ended up doing a BTEC National Diploma in `Drama. That saved me. I don’t think I’d be acting now if it wasn’t for that trip to Lewisham College.”

Ajao had always enjoyed drama but did not initially consider the possibility of a career in the arts.

“I’d always been a performer,” he admits with an endearing chuckle. “I’d sit at the back of the class in school making jokes or playing around.

“In Year 9 my drama teacher Mr Foster took the time to say to me: ‘you could do something in drama’, but I didn’t really know what. I ended up taking Drama at GCSE, mostly because I thought I’d get to play around and do improvisations!”

As befitting a man resolutely and refreshingly free of pretension, David is able to look back on his earliest performances with a sense of humour.

“The first time I was on stage at school was terrible!” he laughs. “We were a Catholic school and we did a play about Jesus going into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights.

“I can’t remember much about the play but I was the devil. I remember standing up in front of the whole school, having come up from a platform, and my first line was: “I’m the devil!” - everyone pissed themselves laughing.

“Then we did a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which I played Helena, which was an interesting experience in an all-boys school, I was hearing about that for the rest of the year!”

Post-Lewisham College, Ajao studied at Rose Bruford Drama School in Sidcup, Kent, an experience about which he speaks candidly.

 “I struggled in that environment. Being a young, black male from south-east London and going to this place in Kent was hard. It was really close to where I’d grown up but it was also really different.

“I didn’t really know how to act around all these actors from across the country. I tried to be myself but I wasn’t staying in student dorms, I was heading back home at the end of every day, which was difficult. I couldn’t always go to the parties and socialise as much as others.”

Before drama school, David admits he existed in something of a south-east London bubble. “My mum’s Nigerian and growing up in Peckham was like being in Little Nigeria or Little Lagos.

“A lot of my mum’s friends lived around here and there was a huge Nigerian community, which was evident along Rye Lane, all the markets and in the hair shops. I loved growing up in Peckham and having that sense of community.”

Despite the ups and downs of drama school, David remains grateful for the support he received from his tutor (“Steven Dykes – he helped me out a lot”) and the fact his course gave him the opportunity to study in America for a year in Nacogdoches, Texas. He also left Rose Bruford with a greater sense of identity.

“You learn more about yourself at drama school than you do about any acting techniques, which in some ways helps inform who you are as an actor. But it was a tough three years.”

While at Rose Bruford, Ajao also secured his first paid acting job, wearing a hoodie in an ESPN commercial and earning the princely sum of £100 (“more than my EMA [Educational Maintenance Allowance] at the time!”)

By now the light-hearted joker of Ajao’s teenage years was gone, and in his place was a man possessing a steely determination to succeed and a formidable dedication to his craft.

“I had an agent but they weren’t very good,” David reveals of his early days as a jobbing actor. “I knew there wasn’t going to be a big break that skyrocketed me, so the first thing I did was go on a website called Casting Call Pro.

“Anything that matched my casting breakdown I applied for. A lot of the work was unpaid, some of it was expenses only. But I did every job I could, as I wanted to add to my experience. I learnt so much from fellow actors, probably more than I did from drama school.

“Fortunately, I was never so long without an acting job where I thought: ‘I’m not supposed to do this’, even when I took on other things like working in Curry’s or in bars or hospitality.”

Ajao’s career soon gained momentum with an appearance in Otieno at the Southwark Playhouse, a play which reworked Othello in Zimbabwe. Soon after, he was cast as Romeo by the Box Clever Theatre Company in a production that toured schools for several months.

“Kids are the most honest audience – if they don’t like you that’s it, you know it straight away! It was some of the most rewarding work I’ve done.” Ironically, Ajao had never really seen himself as a potential Shakespearean actor, but being cast as Romeo set him on a path which would see his career often intersect with the Bard’s work.

“I’d done two Shakespeare plays in secondary school like everyone else. But I was always like: ‘hmm, I’m never going to properly understand it.’

“The artistic director of Box Clever Michael Wicherek took a chance on me. He said: ‘I want to give you this opportunity to play and understand Shakespeare, I think you’re a great actor and you need this.’ I never thought it would work out this way but I’ve done a lot of Shakespeare.”

A further performance as Romeo for Box Clever followed, this time directed by Iqbal Khan, who would become an important figure in David’s career.

“Iqbal and I clicked straight away. I think he really understood me. I’ve since worked with him four or five times and my first RSC job was directed by him.”

The job David mentions was a role in Iqbal’s acclaimed and groundbreaking production of Othello in 2015, in which the title role was played by Hugh Quarshie, alongside Lucian Msumati - the first black actor to play Iago at the RSC.

David understudied for Msumati while also playing Montano. During the same Stratford season he also appeared in The Merchant of Venice and Hecuba.

“I think there’s often a stigma around Shakespeare where people think they have to present it in a certain way with an RP accent.

“Fortunately for me with a lot of these productions I’ve had the privilege of having a director who has wanted to hear the Shakespeare in my voice, to hear the south-east London in it, to hear me speaking naturally.”

Post-Othello, David picked up some major TV work, including a chance to flex his comic muscles in Dane Baptiste’s uproarious BBC sitcom Sunny D and a six-month stint in Holby City alongside former Othello colleague Hugh Quarshie.

“Doing TV was really exciting and helped raise my profile somewhat. There were sort of opportunities to go back to the RSC but I had always said if I went back I’d like to have a really substantial part.”

And so it came to pass when David was cast in the lead role of Orlando in As You Like It in the RSC’s forthcoming Stratford-upon-Avon season.

Rehearsals are well under way now, with the curtain due to rise for the first time on 14 February, while David will also appear later in the year as Pompey in Measure for Measure.

“I’d wanted it for so long but there was still some anxiety attached to it,” he says of the process of auditioning for the role of Orlando. “Part of it still hasn’t hit me – the fact I’m taking on a lead at the RSC. It’s somewhat daunting but also really exciting.

“We started rehearsing at the end of November and the director Kimberley Sykes has set up a room where everyone’s opinion is valid. We are creating this world as a team, which makes me so much more comfortable.

“I’m feeling really good and I’ll hopefully be bringing something new to the character. We all know As You Like It is a comedy but I think within it comedy and tragedy sit side by side. I think you’ll see a lot of that in Orlando.”

David also hopes that his success will inspire other youngsters from working-class urban backgrounds to follow his lead.

“I want anyone reading this interview to be encouraged that they can find their own way. There’s no linear path in acting - you may have to go left, right or all over the place but there’s so many people out there who are doing great things, including loads of people from Peckham.

“I’ve been inspired by so many people so I hope people also will look to me and gain some inspiration and see that Shakespeare can be for kids from Peckham, and that you don’t have to put on an act while acting it.”

[anamartinezblogs-blog]

Internet Safety

The internet is a source for thousands of things. It is a source for information that you didn’t know, school work, work in general, and even just to watch funny cat videos to pass time. You even use it right now to read this blog! Anyways, we all know all the great things about the internet, right? Well, its time for me to open up your eyes and tell you all the dangers and precautions you should know about using the internet. In this blog, I will tell you what online scams are, different types of online scams and how to avoid them, how to stay safe on social media, and finally some fun facts. Hope you enjoy!

Online Scams

With the internet constantly growing and changing, a LOT of people are starting to use it in their everyday lives. I hate to break it to you, but not all of these people use the internet for good. Sometimes, people use it to get money from others or to trick others into doing something. This is what you call an online scam. An online scam is a scheme online that tries to trick people into doing things that can benefit the tricker and/or harm the victim. There are MANY different types of online scams, each getting worse and worse. There are prize scams, money scams, friendship/romance scams, and lastly fraud scams. It’s a bit overwhelming seeing all these types of scams that you’ve never heard about before, so I’ll now explain what each of those is and give some advice about how to avoid them. 

Prize Scams-  When using the internet, you may come across a sidebar or an advertisement saying that you won something. Prize scams include online lottery scams, scratchie scams and travel scams. These scams inform you that you have won a prize (eg. a large sum of money, shopping vouchers, a free holiday or travel related products), and to claim it you are asked to send money or provide personal information. You may be excited to win something, but beware! 99.999% of the time, these “prizes” aren’t even real! The whole trick is to make you want the prize, and then to make you give them your address. That is a HUGE no-no because by giving them your address, you are now vulnerable for your home to be reached by any random person online. You can avoid this type of scam by simply not believing that you won anything unless you hear it from a source you know for A FACT is legit. 

Money Scams- Sometimes when you are online shopping, you come across a website that has exactly what you want and a great price. You might think “wow! I can’t believe this is so cheap and convenient! I’m definitely going to buy this!” However, that’s exactly what the scammer wants you to think. The whole point of the scam is so that you put your credit card information on the website thinking that it will buy you what you want, but then next thing you know the things you bought never show up and you are missing hundreds of dollars! These scammers trick you into putting your credit card information, meaning they can now buy anything they want with it. Scary right? Well, there are many ways you can avoid this. You can make sure that it is a legit website with reliable customer reviews, and always shop from places like Amazon or eBay that you know are not a scam. 

Friendship/romance scams- Have you ever went online and found someone really cool to talk to? Maybe you even wanted to meet them in real life and start a relationship with them, whether it’s a romantic one or a friendship one. Well, I’m sorry but that is one of the most dangerous things you can do in your entire life! On the internet, you never really know who is on the other side of the chat or what they really want to do with you. Even if they tell you that they are who they say they are or even send pictures, never ask to meet them or tell them any personal information. Try avoiding online chats with people you don’t know in the first place, but if you do come across one, make sure you know the motto “Stranger danger!” and never send out any personal information. It may actually save your life. 

Fraud Scams- This is a big one. Everyone in their life has come across a fraud scammer some way or another. A fraud is someone who pretends to be someone else, and they don’t say who they actually are. There are many different types of fraud scams on the internet. I actually have some experience dealing with this kind of scam. One time, I was online looking for a babysitting job, and some lady contacted me saying she has 2 kids that need babysitting. She then sent me a  $2000 through the mail saying I was getting “pre-paid”, but then told me that I needed to send her 1500$ online. She did this because once you send money online, it immediately becomes available. Guess what though? THE CHECK WAS FAKE!! She was about to earn 1500$ and rid me of $2000 (that I didn’t even have)! Now don’t worry, I knew this was a scam so I didn’t follow along with it, but it still could have ended badly. These types of scammers do this to a bunch of people every day online, and my story was just a little something so you would know what it would be like. Never trust someone online when it comes to money!

Fraud scams continued- That’s not the only type of fraud scam. The first type was people pretending to be someone else trying to get your money, but the second type I’m about to explain is when scammers don't try to get your money, but they pretend like they already have your money. Say you’re doing something online, and somehow someone out there has access to your credit card and ID. With access to these things, they could literally pretend to be you and use all of your money! Anyways, you can avoid these types of scams by NEVER letting anyone online see any of your property that proves who you are (such as passport, ID, credit card etc). Scams like this easily ruin people’s lives, and you don’t want to be one of those people, do you? Follow my tips and you won’t be! 

How to be safe on social media

Now that I’ve covered the main issue on online scams, it is time to talk about something we all know a lot about. Social media! These days, people of all ages have many social media accounts. It is a great way to stay in touch with friends, look at trendy things, and see some celebrities around the world. Social media is great and all, but I think we all need to be educated on how to be safe when using it. In this section of my blog, I will tell you some tips about using social media and how to be safe with it. Enjoy!

Instant messaging- Always make sure that you are talking to who you think you are. You want to avoid any fraud scams (people saying they are someone else). Always be careful about what you send someone else because if it gets in the wrong hands you could get into some serious trouble. There is a little rule I like to follow, and I hope you’ll follow it too. It goes like this- “if you wouldn’t want your parents, teacher, or priest to see what you are sending, then don’t send it!”

Posting Pictures- When you are posting a picture online, remember to make sure you know that basically anyone can see this picture. This means that you can’t have any personal information showing, such as your address, phone number, credit cards etc. Also, keep your pictures appropriate for all audiences. It’s better to make your account private so that people you know can see this, and not just random strangers.

Using Strong Passwords- This should go without saying. If someone hacks into your social media account, then they can post anything they want and send any message they want pretending to be you. This can really harm your reputation and may even be dangerous to you because of how much personal information is on your account. Just use a strong password no one can guess and you’ll be fine. 

Know who is on your account- Always know who is following you and who can see the things you post. If it is someone you don’t know, block them. If it is someone you do know, talk to them in person about it to confirm that it is their real account and not a fake one. It is very important that you are aware of who can see who you are because it is very dangerous to be vulnerable to strangers. It’s best to have a private account and closely manage your followers. 

Fun Facts about the internet

There are currently seven people who hold the key to the internet. In the case of any event which makes the internet shut down, these 7 people have a key to reboot its internal part.

All of us are familiar with browser names like Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. But the very first and popular web browser was known to be Mosiac which started its services in the year 1993 and was a major part of internet till 1997.

 The Internet has gained about 5 million users in just 5 years. It took 13 years for TV to gather these many users.

There are over 1 billion internet users today which is about 20% of the world’s population.

An average surfing session lasts about only 51 minutes.

Sweden has the most number of internet users across the world with about 75% of the population using it.

The satellite-based internet availability has made it possible to access the internet all over the world. Still there are certain countries like North Korea and China who are denied access by the government.

It is estimated that people who use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are likely to spend their 10% of a lifetime on it.

Asia is a continent with the largest number of internet users.

19% married couple meets online, making it a suitable marriage bureau.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and learned something about the internet and how to be safe with it. Remember the information about online scams and social media so you can stay safe on the web! Thanks for reading, and good luck out there on the web!!

[respheal]

Two years of Galebound

Hey guys, Res here! Long spiel ahead because I’m getting personal and long-winded here. Full text after the cut to spare your dash.

tl;dr: A brief history of Galebound’s development and my experiences with telling a story, joining a community, depression, and living inside my characters’ heads for two solid years.

[cut]

So I was working on page 103 early last month (yeah, the week page 103 was due to go up aaaahhahahaha -cries-) when I realized what was coming up: the second anniversary of Galebound’s start as a webcomic. The exact date of the anniversary is a little nebulous. The decision to make it a webcomic was made on 4/20/16 when I completed drawing the concept art for all the main characters (which I had set as a prerequisite for going on the hare-brained adventure) and drew what would become the title page. The first page was published on Smack Jeeves (where galebound.com is hosted) on 5/14/16. So the birthday of the webcomic is somewhere between those dates but I’m going to consider it to be 5/14, which is why I’m rambling about it today. I want to talk a bit about Galebound’s history and what it means to me.

Galebound was originally a short story called Noblesse Oblige. It was written in first person POV from Conan’s perspective and published on DeviantArt back in 2007 or so. I really wish I could find that original draft because I bet it’s wonderfully terrible. I didn’t really know what I was doing with the story at the time--Conan was an untrusting jerk, Din was an arrogant troll, and Pascal was downright unhinged. The basic mechanics of the Obligation were there (simply that Noblemen could command Magicians), but that was about it.

I pants’d the story until it got to--well, just after this point actually. The conclusion of the battle on the bridge, and then I stopped. I don’t entirely remember why. But the story stuck around in the back of my mind while I met new friends (Hi, Skypernauts!), went to college, moved across the country, met my first boyfriend, got my first job, met my future husband, and casually worked on developing an RPGMaker game in my spare time (That RPG is called Memory and that story will likely get turned into a comic eventually as well).

While I was working on Memory’s battle system, I had the thought: how would I convert Noblesse Oblige into an RPG? The magic system would probably have to be something like the field generator from the original .hack games: string together words for a certain field or, in this case, magic. That way the command side of the Obligation would be integrated into the gameplay.

I played around with that idea for a bit longer, but ultimately decided it wouldn’t work; there was a major design flaw with the game. I can’t say what that flaw was because figuring out the solution to the design flaw led to the realization of a huge twist in NO’s story. I had to get this story out. Now.

Around this time I had abandoned RPG-making (because making nice maps is a PITA), so I took Noblesse Oblige through a JulyNoWriMo (NaNoWriMo, just in July). This time I took the story through Norin, Evenheim, the bridge, and on to Cymaria and beyond, compelled as if by Obligation. I accomplished my goal of 50k words, but the story still wasn’t complete. I slowed down the writing process and kept at it, but I also wanted to share the story so badly.

And uh...well. No one was interested in beta reading it except one friend, when time allowed. My fiance made an attempt, but didn’t get very far (He tried though, bless him, and said that although the beginning was rough--lord was it ever--it picked up eventually). In his eternal patience, my fiance at least let me spill the whole story at him. He didn’t like parts of it, mainly some things that happen around the midpoint and Din as a character in general (Din was a bit more actually evil back then). But he listened to the story as a whole, which was a lot more support than I felt anyone else had given the project at the time (Thanks, Mike <3). He also made a hell of a lot of puns about the ending of it, but in fairness the ending does lend itself to a lot of puns. It’ll blow you away (ba-dum-tsh).

I started getting really frustrated. There was this story that I just had to tell, but seemingly no one who would listen. I’d put a couple chapters up on Wattpad or Tablo, but got no feedback there (and didn’t learn until much later that those sites are miserable for anything that isn’t romance). An excuse would be that I wanted to know if this project had any sort of worth and if I should continue with it, but real talk: I wanted validation. I know better now what was happening then, but...well, hindsight.

While this was going on, I posted this illustration in the NaNoWriMo forums, the first drawing I had done in about two years or so.

No comments for a bit, but one day I was browsing through the thread and noticed someone quoted me and responded, asking if I was doing a webcomic. Um...No? I had tried making a webcomic before, but it was a LOT of work and I figured it wouldn’t be something I would have time for now.

Buuuuuuuuut the seed was planted. At this point I had determined the reason no one was interested in reading my rough novel was because A) the writing must be terrible (it kind of was) and B) nobody ain’t got time for reading books. So maybe this story could be told and find its audience as a webcomic. But only if I could draw ALL of the main and secondary characters. I would have to draw them hundreds of times, so no point in trying if I couldn’t even draw them all once.

Suffice to say, I succeeded. And the comic began under the new name Galebound.

Even as the comic went up, however, the need for validation persisted. I meticulously tracked subscription counts and likes and faves and everything, craving proof that people were reading this story. It got better as the story went on and some events did provide temporary boosts (Like Galebound getting featured on a “Top Five New Comics” list from Top Web Comics -excited screaming- and I met a new friend who I could talk to about the story and she actually read the monstrosity that was the first draft), but, well...

So, long story short: I was suffering from clinical depression with all that entails, and did for quite a while. Still am, technically. Just well managed now (yaaaaaay therapy and medication). It’s funny because I can pick out the pages it was hitting me the hardest because Conan was super bummed in those pages too.

I guess what I’m saying here is that this story was a big part of my life during some of the hardest and darkest times of my life.

I’m doing better now (see: aforementioned medication and therapy). Really I’m lucky because I see and talk to other webcomic artists who have similar struggles and similar feelings and the same reactions when sad or disappointing things happen and I want to suggest they get professional help when I recognize the signs of depression in them, but I realize I’m extremely fortunate in that I even had the opportunity to get the medical attention I needed. (I will recommend up and down all day long that if you’re suffering from depression and have the opportunity to see a doc about it, do so. For years I had tricked myself into thinking it wasn’t that bad even when...it was.)

There were good things, too. I met new friends and joined a community of other webcomic creators. I contributed to some drama in the community in an attempt to hold our publishing platforms accountable. I created a website to help webcomic readers and creators. I attended my first convention as an artist (and actually sold a sticker and a booklet! Woo!) and by the time this gets published I’ll have attended my second. Galebound has gained a small fanbase and I’m so proud of how clever the readers are. Seriously, you all keep me on my toes.

Regarding the story itself, Galebound is, by my estimates, about a fifth of the way through the full story, which means it will likely run for about ten years total if things don’t speed up (and I really want to speed things up). If you consult the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet, we’re somewhere in “The Debate”, that debate being “Who is Din and can he be trusted?”

Spoiler alert (warning: song with explicit language)

The whole concept of the Obligation stems from the dichotomy of what one wants to do versus what one feels compelled to do. That could be taking over the family business, going to college, going to church, even choosing a life partner based on expectations as opposed to one’s true feelings--as a character will say in the future, “not all Obligations are magic.” This sort of Obligation is something I think a lot of people face, and something Conan, too, will face throughout the course of the story.

Galebound is also about redemption and forgiveness. There are characters who have made terrible mistakes and decisions in the name of hatred and prejudice, and those who have brought harm to others out of sheer ignorance. It’s about self-worth and purpose. It’s about friendship and reconciliation. It’s about platonic and familial love. It’s about duty...and obligations.

It’s complicated, but “simple stories are inherently false. Life is complicated, and perspective matters.”

To sort of go into Conan and Din’s headspace a bit as they are now, they’re not in a good place emotionally, and it’s soon to get worse (because a certain someone Can’t Follow Instructions). They will hit rock bottom, but after that...well, there’s no place left to go but up? After this chapter, both of them will be reeling from mistakes made in the recent and distant past, but these events--as well as what will happen with the next few days--will put them in a place to rethink everything.

Long story short, I’m excited for what’s to come, but when am I not?

Anyway, that’s my spiel. Thanks for reading and for reading Galebound! My goals for it this year are to finish the first volume, start editing some of the earlier pages in preparation for printing, get a few chapters of the novel written (again), and get to the turn into act two. I’m actually so hyped for the turn I’ve edited this paragraph a millions times to keep myself from dropping even hints of spoilers because wow I want to talk about it.

So I better stop.

Thanks again for reading and Galespeed! <3

Links

Read Galebound here: galebound.com Prints and Stickers: store.synestories.com Social Media: Twitter | Facebook Support: Ko-Fi | Patreon

[thezoequinn]

The Value Of Just Shutting The Fuck Up Sometimes

A few weeks ago, I was doing an interview with a reporter and she was asking about almost every weird GamerGate conspiracy theory that had come up about me in the last few years. I've honestly forgotten more of them than I remembered at this point. She didn't seem to understand why I'd never addressed most of the accusations which had ranged from whose dick I touched to literally murdering people. She said in researching me for the piece, she'd only ever found the weirdo accusations but not my version of events, and seemed to not understand why I wouldn't just say what actually did or didn't happen.

I can't blame her for being curious. I think whenever we hear something wild, especially about someone or something we care about, we want to know answers. Lord knows if you're the one being lied about, it's a natural impulse to want to set the record straight or give your side of anything.

Sadly, that's extremely short sighted. No one thinks about what might happen next.

It's been over three years of being accused of all kinds of shit from all kinds of people, and if I've learned nothing else, I've learned the importance of restraint and the responsibility that comes with having a large platform and gigantic visibility. It makes me feel like a kaiju where any small movement could potentially tip over a building. I've written a bunch in my book about how engaging with bad-faith accusations and signal boosting them just to refute them can easily backfire and ingrain false information in people's minds even further. That can sometimes just come down to a math problem - if someone with an audience of 50 makes up a rumor about you, if you respond to it with your audience of 500, more people are going to see the false stuff than would otherwise. To complicate matters, there are enough people out there who think that even refuting something at all makes you look guilty. There are people who want you to be guilty because they already don't like you. Frequently, bad-faith accusations will not be addressed by proof to the contrary, because you can't reason someone out of something they didn't reason themselves into in the first place. People are complicated.

But when you put your side of anything out there, the thing that comes next isn't usually "oh, okay". The thing that comes next is usually escalation. It's people digging into shit trying to prove you wrong. It's invasive, and it can have so much collateral damage.

For example, when people ask me why I didn't address my ex's claims about who I did and didn't sleep with, even when I had the floor, I get why they'd ask. My own desire to keep some remaining shred of my privacy aside, those claims aren't just about me. I've been accused of sleeping with people I haven't ever really talked to, people who are pretty private in general who just want to be left the hell alone. I don't have the right to drag them back into a messy situation that involves probably getting stalked and yelled at by nazis just to try and save my own skin, especially since it's more likely than not that people are just going to believe whatever they want to anyway. Or maybe that's me being cynical after watching years of people claiming that I fucked someone for a review I never got from a website I already had written for in the past. I honestly have, I think understandably, lost a bit of perspective on that particular point.

This is especially complicated by situations like mine, because I am under constant surveillance by people who hate my guts who are looking for people to hurt, and people looking to feed on "drama", and people looking for new targets. If you think that's being dramatic, there are places I know of that have threads specifically about stalking me *to this day* with literally thousands of posts in them. Bad faith actors aside, my audience is in the hundreds of thousands. The responsibility that comes with that is something I take extremely seriously. It's something that I encourage everyone else with big online platforms to take extremely seriously too. I think a lot of us internet famous folks ended up here without really trying to, and it's easy to feel like "well I didn't ask for this and it's not my fault if something happens" and while, yeah, sure, you can't take responsibility for the actions of other people (especially people who are super out there and just looking to hurt someone regardless of whatever you're doing), I see no reason to not try to minimize harm. A power dynamic doesn't cease to exist just because you didn't explicitly seek that power out, or maybe didn't even want it in the first place. People who have less resources than you will still have less resources than you regardless of how you feel about it.

When there's a significant power differential at play, there's harm algebra to be done when it comes to addressing disinformation. It's not as simple as "just setting the record straight" in public, because once you make something public you give up a certain degree of control that you cannot get back. It might mean putting someone who is already hurting or has so much less than me in more harm than I'd ever face by just taking the reputation hit.

Sometimes there's situations where I just have to take it on the chin, because nothing happens in a vacuum. Sometimes I just have to let it go, no matter how much it fucking sucks to have people out there tearing into you for reasons that really have very little to do with you, because the collateral damage is too much on too many people to justify any potential repairs to my reputation.

Honestly, it's really not worth it to me to escalate a situation just to make a frequently pointless attempt at getting people to be more critical of the wild shit they read about me online, especially when it means probably hurting someone else. It's been years and I still don't know how to navigate a lot of this. I've tried so much already - talking about bigger stuff, proving what actually happened, attempting to prove negatives, responding only with screenshots of fighting game win screens. It's not like people making shit up about me, regardless of motivation, is a novel occurrence in my life. It's not like I've made the right call all the time - I've arrived at this method of dealing with shit after making a lot of *wrong* calls. I've been pretty open about being a bad fit for being a public figure of any sort - I was (and still feel) vastly unprepared to handle being a weird symbol to so many people who want all kinds of things from me regardless of if they need a villain or a hero or a symbol of whatever the fuck.

Frankly I can't live my life around playing whack a mole with whatever new horseshit slithers out of the corners of the internet on any given day that ends in Y, because when I was trying to do that it really almost cost me my life.

A fun side effect of being a survivor of domestic violence is how easy it is to slip back into doubting your own life and experiences to a hyperbolic degree. A fun side effect of depression is feeling like everything you say and do is bad and wrong and that you're worthless on a regular basis. A fun side effect of my PTSD is flashing back to being in that fucking elevator shaft when GamerGate started and I couldn't sleep or eat and was convinced everyone would turn on me and I'd be alone forever any time some conspiracy comes up that hits me at just the right angle that it gets under my armor.

But I know that's squarely out of my control. All I can do is manage what I do with that. I don't know what else to do other than seek external advice from people smarter than me when something comes up that really gets under my skin or makes me doubt my own version of events even when I damn well know something didn't happen to help counter the trashbrain filter that the disinformation comes in through because having those issues doesn't let me off of any hooks. I don't want to use any of that, or even my status as someone who is frequently targeted with shit that I'm too exhausted to type out so just picture me gesturing vaguely at everything to absolve me of anything. I don't ever want to think I'm above reproach, so I check in with people around me who will be honest and call me on my shit. When I do fuck up, and I do because I'm a human in an extremely weird fucking situation, I do whatever seems like the right thing to do, not the face-saving thing to do. Sometimes, this is shit that's done in private. I don't know why people assume everything has to be handled extremely online. But overwhelmingly more often than not, shit is maliciously made up, and more often than not the only right move that will de-escalate shit and hurt the least amount of people is just letting it go and praying that people will see through it, or they'll actually talk to me if they see some wild accusation. And if people wanted to look for reasons to think the worst and get the knives out immediately, honestly, I feel extremely done with anyone looking to build people up only to gleefully tear them back down. I'm tired and I've watched too many communities devour themselves to want any part of that, and am only interested in working toward a future that's centered on restorative justice instead of exclusively punitive systems in different settings. I'm tired of enthusiastic disposibility masquerading as community. All that behavior says to me is that I was never safe around you in the first place.  

I know I'm taking a gigantic risk in even posting this to begin with because I know it's an uncomfortable subject, but it feels like a bigger, longer-term risk to watch my comrades, siblings, and friends all scared and lost on either side of the power dynamic - both as people who have grievances with people with gigantic platforms, and as people who have gained both visibility and the jealousy and hatefollows that come with it. I'm tired of talking about this stuff in dms with other scared people who don't know what to do. And by no means do I think this is the only way to deal with any of this - this is just how I feel, and how I approach being someone who went from being some random weirdo to being a cultural football. Your mileage may vary. Hopefully I figure out a way that's less dehumanizing, and if I do, I'll be sure and let you know. But again, I'm a random weirdo game developer. I'm figuring this shit out as I go, and I lean into my skids and wear my heart on my sleeve and if y'all want to throw me in the trash over being aggressively vulnerable and human at you, that's ok. You don't have to like me or support me, and I like trash anyway.

Shit's pretty fucked up in the world right now (duh), but the very least we can do is really interrogate how and what we use our varying degrees of reach and visibility for. We have to see ourselves as part of something larger and look at our impact instead of just our intentions. For me, sometimes that means that being right doesn't mean a damn thing and is unrelated to doing the right thing. Sometimes, for me, that means knowing when to just shut the fuck up and let people think what they're gonna think. And if nothing else, I've seen that on a long enough timeline, people tend to figure out who makes shit up without my involvement.

So I'm only gonna say all of this once, here, so that I never have to say it again and I can point at it any time I'm asked to weigh in on something someone said about me on the internet, because god damn I'm tired and I'd rather spend my time and effort trying to help people and make dope shit than fuss about what people think they know about me.

[destination-of-fate]

(English) Mafumafu’s interview with Natalie Music (October 18th, 2017)

Original article here.

Mafumafu gave a very interesting interview to the music website Natalie to celebrate the release of his new CD! He spoke about the meaning behind his new songs, his future plans as both a solo artist and a member of After the Rain, and gave a bit more explanation about a new organization he is trying to form for online musicians and singers. Please let me know if you spot any typos or errors, and enjoy the interview~! :D  

Mafumafu has released his solo album titled “Ashitairo World End.”

Mafumafu began his career as a video uploader who posted under the “I tried singing ___” category on video sites such as Niconico Douga. He now works as a member of After the Rain in addition to writing theme songs for anime series, gaining popularity as both a vocalist and a creator. To celebrate the release of “Ashitairo World End,” Natalie conducted a solo interview with Mafumafu. As he reflected on his increasingly high profile from many events over the last year, we inquired about the life of this unique creator and self-styled “jack of all trades.”

This year, I get the impression that many new people have taken notice of you, due to all the news about your various promotional songs and contributions to albums.

My work schedule has practically exploded with busyness compared to how it was last year, but I’m thankful for that.

At the start of the year you carried out your first solo concerts via tour. You’ve participated in many events and held large-scale concerts as After the Rain too. I was surprised that these were your first solo concerts.

The truth is that until now, I’d always avoided doing solo concerts. I’m first and foremost a video uploader, so I believed that my music was complete when I used videos to put a song and an image together for an audience. That’s why I didn’t have much interest in performing on stage. But that just sounded like an excuse so that I didn’t have to do concerts, and that’s when I had a sudden realization. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve believed that “growth” is when a person learns something they never knew before, or when they become able to do something they were unable to do before. I still feel that my music is complete when it’s in video form, but when I thought that having solo concerts might allow me to grow, I decided to give it a try.

Having completed your solo concerts, do you feel like you’ve experienced any personal change or growth?

Yes, I do. I always felt that “completed music” was something that could only be achieved in recorded form. But then I realized that “completed music” could take a different form in a place like a concert hall. Since you can’t re-do a concert, you might end up making mistakes, but I still felt like concerts have their own benefits to them too. Although with one concert you can reach a few thousand people, and with a tour you can make your music heard by tens of thousands of them. If I use videos, I get hundreds of thousands of views, which means more people will hear my songs, and videos don’t require money to listen to the music. That’s the kind of thing I was thinking about. I felt that my main method of work really is through videos.

Outside of the anime theme songs you’ve performed as After the Rain, you’ve also had more opportunities to provide songs for series like “Gamers!” and the second season of “Osomatsu-san.” I feel like you’ve been able to stand in the spotlight more as Mafumafu the composer.

It’s an honor to be recognized as a composer. It’s true that now I’m approached with more offers to write songs for other performers than I was in the past, but I don’t let it get to my head, and I think of it as studying that I do every day.

Another big piece of news was the song you wrote for Kudo Shizuka-san. It was an unexpected combination that surprised a lot of people. Can you tell us the story behind that?

She had apparently been listening to my songs before that point, and one day I suddenly received the message, “Kudo Shizuka-san has asked you to write a song for her.” I was like, “Are you sure it’s me she asked for?”

You wrote the song “Kinki to Tsukiakari” for her. How did Kudo-san respond to the song?

She really liked it, and told me, “I’m glad I requested a song from you. Thank you.” I responded like, “No, thank you.” It was a valuable experience that I was able to have.

Last May you organized the event “Hikikomori Demo Fest ga Shitai!” on the large stage at Saitama Super Arena. This caught the eye of many people with other performers in addition to yourself, such as Amatsuki-san, the UraShimaSakataSen members, “XYZ Tour” performers, and more.

Before then, there had never been an opportunity where internet artists like ourselves can stand on a big stage like that and just do whatever we want. I feel like one of my current roles is to plan things that haven’t been able to be done before, or step a bit into new territory. To change the subject a little, over these last 3 years, there have been many people in this field of work who have run into work-related trouble, or been victims of fraud. For example, most utaite and Vocaloid producers do not belong to a big company, and there are also some people who have been victims that were mistaken in choosing the company that they did. I’ve been experimenting to see if I can create an organization that provides an environment for these people that makes it easy for them to work in until they can find their next company to join. As I was considering that, I saw the sold-out arena during “Hikifest” and became confident that I needed to make an environment for video uploaders that’s easier for them to work in, so that more opportunities like Hikifest were able to occur.

I’d like to hear about your album “Ashitairo World End” as well. After receiving the album, I was surprised to see that there were 16 tracks, and most of them were new songs for the album. It’s a lot, isn’t it (laughs). But I felt like I absolutely had to include 16 songs on this album. First of all, After the Rain’s album “Clock Crest Story” contained 16 songs. I felt like I couldn’t have any less than that. Also, when I counted up everything I wanted to do, I ended up needing about 16 songs for all of that. What do you mean by “what you wanted to do”? ”Rinne Tensei” is a song with a synthesizer sound that uses a four-on-the-floor rhythm pattern (T/N: This is a term for a song where the bass drum is hit once per beat in 4/4 time), “Suisai Ginga no Chronicle” is a melodious song in triple meter that gives you sort of a floating feeling, “Futari Bocchi” is a mid-tempo, slightly decadent kind of song, “Fury” is an eccentric song like I’ve never made before, and “Shuuten” is a song I’ve wanted to make for a long time now… When I counted up everything like that, I needed 16 songs. I’ve always planned to make an album called “Ashitairo World End.” But my last album “Yamiiro Night Parade” (released April 2015) ended up having quite a long break before I made this one, and that was because I personally felt like there were too many things I was unfamiliar with when it came to music, and I thought that I needed to grow more before I could release “Ashitairo World End.” Why did you decide on a title first? Ever since I was young, I would genuinely ask my teachers and adults around me questions like, “What would tomorrow be like if I died?” and, “What happens to people when they die?” No one really spoke seriously to me, and my teachers got mad at me. I’ve lived up to today with those strange, mysterious things on my mind. The album “Ashitairo World End” (T/N: “Tomorrow-Colored World End”) was built with the themes of “What if tomorrow has no color?” and “What if there was no future?” After deciding on the title, what was the first song you wrote? The first song I wrote for the album was “Rinne Tensei.” To loosely summarize this song, the lyrics mean like, “It’s time to say goodbye to this worthless life.” Within the lyrics, there’s actually two points of view from people. One is a person harboring hope for the next world, and one is me as a human reincarnating as the character with the name Mafumafu. I wanted to express how the world was still worthless in the end even after reincarnating. I feel like your lyrics often contain nuances of “rejecting the real world,” not just within “Rinne Tensei.” Rather than writing songs for my listeners, I always just write them for myself. That is to say, I’m not someone who is very good at speaking, nor do I have a personality that makes it easy to come to mutual understandings with people, but I use the method of “writing lyrics and turning them into songs” as a way to convey things. It’s a one-way means of communication, but it works perfectly for me. The lyrics I come up with do have meaning to them, but I leave individual interpretation up to each listener themselves, and I don’t think that I need to consider how people will react to my songs. I believe that I just need to make them say what I want to say. You also write music and lyrics for After the Rain. How do you mentally separate your unit works from your solo works? After the Rain is comprised of Soraru-san and myself, and I think it’s something that wouldn’t work without both of us there. That’s why the songs have to be suitable, as things that Soraru-san and I will share together. That’s how I see it, which is why I feel quite a sense of responsibility when I write After the Rain songs (laughs). I study music everyday, and carefully focus my energy on my work. With all that, everything I’ve worked on comes back to me when I make something as a solo artist, and not to say I don’t focus on this work, of course, but I feel like I can express my thoughts and the kind of music I want to make without changing anything. You said earlier that “Shuuten” (T/N: “Last Stop”) was a song you’d always wanted to write. Does that mean you’d planned to end the album “Ashitairo World End” with “Shuuten” from the start? I’d wanted to write a song called “Shuuten” for a while now, and I actually wasn’t sure if “Shuuten” should be the final song, or another song I wrote called “World End” should be at the end. “World End” is a faster tempo song than “Shuuten,” and I wrote about “hope” in a way that was pretty easy to understand. But “Shuuten” became something I agreed with more, so I used that one. ”Shuuten” is the answer to the question “What happens to people when they die?” that you mentioned earlier. That makes it a song that expresses your views on life and death, correct? That’s right. Humans have to let go of everything when they die, and they surely forget that they are themselves as well. I wanted to write about how that’s all that happens. It’s not just a pessimistic view though, and I think you can also see it in the positive way of people breaking free from everything that ties them down. No matter how nice you try to make things look, no matter how unfair the things you did to make money were, no matter how wonderfully you saved many people for a just cause, in the end, everyone arrives at that same “last stop.” If people listened to this song and thought about that “last stop” just a little bit, then maybe things like judging and blaming other people, or trying to obtain things even through unfair means, maybe things like that wouldn’t matter anymore. I wanted them to relax a bit, and to convey that there are many different points of view in life. In the Limited Edition A version of your album is a DVD called “Mafumafu’s Solo Journey ~Aimlessly Going to a Hot Springs Town~” Can you tell us what kind of video this is? It’s really just a live-action video of me going to a hot spring (laughs). I went to a hot springs town called Ikaho, which is in Gunma, and was honored to have the voice actor Uchiyama Kouki-san do the narration. His lines are dubbed in as someone I talk to in the DVD, and what was just footage of me walking around was made into a proper “travel show” kind of video. I also had a specific request about this video being part of Limited Edition A. What was the request? I feel like it’s normal for things like music videos and concert footage to go as a DVD with version A, and then version B has some kind of sub-content with it, but I wanted to try reversing that. My A version is the travel video, and the B version is the MV and concert video. If my album managed to make it to the top of the rankings and the description for Limited Edition A is given, the DVD content will say, “Mafumafu’s Solo Journey ~Aimlessly Going to a Hot Springs Town~,” right? I thought it’d be funny if people saw that and thought, “Eh, what the heck is that?” (laughs). Finally, I’d like to ask you what you’d like to achieve both as a member of After the Rain, and as the solo artist Mafumafu. More than just joining together with someone, I want to always be creating new “chemical reactions.” If one plus one is going to equal two, there’s no point in adding them, since the result will end exactly where it’s hypothesized to be. I want to accomplish things that the two of us couldn’t do without being together. I want to walk 3 more steps further than everyone else into new territory. To say something a bit more ridiculous, I’d like to create a “movement.” I feel like you’ve already created one. I feel like working as After the Rain allows us to walk on a path that we never had before. Like how you would walk on a sidewalk if it’s there, I think everyone walks on a path that someone else built first. But you might actually find a shortcut if you cut through the forest on the side, or a new world like nothing you’ve ever found before might be out there somewhere. That’s why we will keep challenging ourselves to new things, and hope that the people who see that also begin to challenge themselves to new things as well. There are many dreams I want to accomplish as an individual as well. I want to accomplish them all before I die. I think that humans will soon be able to obtain eternal life too. What I want to accomplish as an artist is to complete all the music that I want to make. There’s no point in making music if I run out of things I want to say or create, so I think I’d stop there, but there’s so much music that I do want to make that hundreds of years wouldn’t be enough time for me to do it all, so I don’t think I’ll stop. You’re a vocalist, composer, and performer. It feels like you’ll never run out of things you want to do. I’m a “jack of all trades,” so I want to do everything that people would never predict of me.

[itslikethatfrenchthing]

This Is Why No One Is Commenting On Your Instagram Posts

  You’ve published 5 Instagram posts this week and once again, you’ve hardly had comments. What gives? I see you, and I get it.

Because I’ve been there… 

But I’m not anymore. What if I told you that you could get more comments easily on all of your Instagram posts, every single day? You may think I’m bluffing, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve. 

What if I told you there is ONE big reason you don’t get comments on your social media posts? Are you ready to make this change in your business and start getting more engagement online? 

These go-to call to action ideas will help you increase, engagement, clicks and sales so you can build relationships with potential customers, increase your brand awareness and generate more sales. 

P.S. If you’re ready to learn more about how to create content that connects and converts, save your spot at my FREE From Productivity To Profit Challenge here.

WHY CALLS TO ACTION ARE SO IMPORTANT

People make decisions in a fraction of a second on social media. On a website, it takes less than 15 seconds for someone to decide if they’re going to stick around. You can bet your bottom dollar that it takes way less time than that on a platform like Instagram. 

So if someone gets to the end of reading one of your Instagram posts and you’re not spelling it out in black and white what you want them to do when they get to the end of your post...what do you expect?

The role of a call to action is to direct people into what they should do next. It’s used to tell the user exactly what action to take and how to take it. 

We’ll get into how to create a persuasive and effective call to action later but first, let’s talk about the importance of CTAs.

A lot of businesses simply use the words “sign up” or “buy now” in their Instagram posts and hope that it’s enough to drive conversions. They put so much time, energy and money into the creation of their social media, blog, and email content, and then just slap a half-hearted call to action on the end. And then wonder why they fail.

We don’t just want any old call to action on our Instagram posts - we want a strong call to action that convinces people to act.

Really, there are two main purposes of a call to action:

To tell someone what they should do

To give them the motivation to do so

A lot of people remember to tell people what they should do, but they forget the why part of that equation. But without that, you won’t see the types of conversion rates that you should. While sometimes, your content before the call to action will answer this question, sometimes it doesn’t. Even if it does, a quick recap makes the call to action even more powerful.

WHY YOUR ENGAGEMENT ON INSTAGRAM IS LOW

I think we can narrow it down to 3 main reasons why you’re not getting comments on your Instagram posts.

#1 | You’re not asking for comments

If you’re not specifically asking people to “comment below”, they won’t! You might think it’s too obvious but you need to spell it out for people what it is that you actually want them to do. If you just end your post with a sentence and don’t ask a question, you can’t complain that you didn’t get any comments - you’ve got to ask for them.

#2 | Your call to action is too complex or vague

The key to a great call to action is keeping it simple. If you ask a question such as, “what are your thoughts on this” - that’s very vague and doesn’t really give your readers a good enough, or easy starting point for writing a comment on your post.

On the flipside, if you ask them a question that’s too complex or you’re asking them to share information that’s too personal, they’ll also be put off and won’t leave a comment at all. That’s why the best thing to do is to keep it simple. 

#3 | Every call to action asks for a sale

If every single call to action on your feed says “buy now” or “hit the link in my bio”, we want to change this ASAP! The real problem with this is that if people become used to the fact that you’re always trying to sell to them, they’ll stop coming to your feed because they’ll assume you won’t give them anything else. Serve before you sell. Always.

THE BEST CALL TO ACTION IDEAS FOR PRODUCT & SERVICE BASED BUSINESSES

Before we get into the examples, let’s break down the two types of categories that most call to actions generally fall under. We want to make sure that every single one of our calls to action fits under one of these categories on our Instagram posts.

#1 | Engagement CTA

The first call to action is for engagement. Engagement on all social media is crucial. It’s the little “yes”. When you can get someone to comment on something, they are saying “yes” to you. Over time, enough of these can lead to the sale.

While engagement has always been important and a big focus area for me, I now believe that there is some added benefit to having a highly engaged audience on Instagram. Great engagement can push you out into the algorithm, as well as help you reach the Top Posts area for any of your given hashtags.

What I’m trying to say is: engagement is important! And luckily, it is somewhat within your control. These call to actions are great for inviting engagement by some kind of question or invitation for discussion.

#2 | Conversion CTA

The second call to action is where you direct people to the link in your bio to take the next step with you. Remember, you don’t own your Instagram audience (Instagram does!), so it is wise to move people to where you do business, an area that you can control - like your website. 

This call to action has a specific purpose. Whether it’s to get someone to sign up to your opt-in freebie or check out your new product for sale, a conversion call to action is asking them to take action on something.

Remember - a social media audience is not the be all and end all. It really should be used as a vehicle to share your message and drive traffic to your own website, products and services.

Now, let’s tackle the elephant in the room: every single one of your Instagram posts should have a call to action, but not every single one should be a direct sell.

So, what can you use as a call to action instead of “hit the link in my bio”? Here are some of my favourites.

Call To Action Examples:

Double tap if you agree

Comment below if you…

DM me if you…

Tag a friend who…

Click the link in my bio

What is one word to describe…?

Can you relate? 

Have you done this?

Have you tried this?

Vote for your favourite: A or B!

On a scale of 1-10…

Which is your favourite?

Can you guess what it is?

Share this with someone who needs it

Save this post

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Powerful Words To Use:

Get

Buy

Shop

Try

Learn

Build

Sign up

Register

Click

Discover

Start 

Stop 

Download

Join

Build 

Gain

Go

Get my secrets

Gain access

Ways To Add Urgency

Limited time

Limited amount

Only a few left

Ending soon

Members only

Exclusive

Deadline

Don’t miss out

Only x days left

Hurry

One time offer

Won’t last long

Ending on x date

Holiday special

Today only

There you have it! If you want people to engage with your content, comment or take some sort of action, you need to spell it out for them. Now you have the ideas to do just that! Remember, selling comes from serving, not just advertising what you’re selling, so mix up your call to actions for your Instagram posts and take on the challenge to include one in every single post.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO CREATE CONTENT THAT CONNECTS AND CONVERTS?

Register for my free 4-day challenge From Productivity To Profit - we kick off on September 21st!

ABOUT THE BLOGGER

Hi! I’m Holly Bray

I’m an expert at online marketing, a nerd when it comes to the numbers, and my obsession is teaching others how to know what tasks to focus on so they can create a business that GIVES them life (not one that takes it away).

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